


waking up (in a strange world)

by viktory_arts



Series: waking up (in a strange world) and other stories [1]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Androids, Angst, Attempt at Humor, Autistic Connor (Detroit: Become Human), Canon-Typical Violence, Coming Out, Coming of Age, Connor Deserves Happiness, Deviant Connor (Detroit: Become Human), Domestic Fluff, F/M, Falling In Love, Families of Choice, Father-Son Relationship, First Kiss, Fluff, Friendship/Love, Good Dog Sumo (Detroit: Become Human), Good Parent Hank Anderson, Hank Anderson & Connor Parent-Child Relationship, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Michelle Jones Is a Good Bro, Ned Leeds is a Good Bro, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Not Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant, Post-Peaceful Android Revolution (Detroit: Become Human), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Precious Peter Parker, Secrets, Sokovia Accords, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, aunt may is alive, connor is a teenager
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-11
Updated: 2020-06-23
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:13:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 27
Words: 30,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24132640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/viktory_arts/pseuds/viktory_arts
Summary: Connor and Hank wake up in a world where androids don't exist and superheroes and villains run rampant through the streets of New York. The two are met by a strange (young) superhero who calls himself Spider-Man while in their post dimension hopping confusion. Spider-Man seems to know a lot about the world that Connor and Hank had gotten themselves (unwillingly) into, maybe he could be of help?Or: Connor, Peter, and their pseudo fathers are about to be in for the adventure of a lifetime as two people from a very different dimension popped in.Permanently.
Relationships: Connor (Detroit: Become Human) & Peter Parker, Connor (Detroit: Become Human) & Tony Stark, Connor (Detroit: Become Human)/Peter Parker, Hank Anderson & Connor, James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, Michelle Jones & Ned Leeds & Peter Parker, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: waking up (in a strange world) and other stories [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1741345
Comments: 346
Kudos: 510





	1. waking up

**Author's Note:**

> hope y'all enjoy this wild ride!
> 
> come scream with me about d:bh and marvel on @charlotte-soup on tumblr!!
> 
> you can also find me on twitter! @charlotte_pines !

**> >Full_System_Scan in progress...**

**> >All Systems Fully Operational.**

**> > Proceed to Command_Start_up?**

** >>Y/N?**

** >>Y**

**> >Processing_Command_Start_up…**

**> >Command_Start_up complete.**

Connor felt the entire world come into focus in a matter of milliseconds, his ocular units coming online with nary a spark out of place. The android gave himself a second to blink for a few seconds, calibrating, and taking a deep breath, even if the action was somewhat useless when it came to him. He allowed a few seconds to let his systems cool off from the sudden start up.

While the android was idly letting his systems reboot and trying to connect to Cyberlife’s network, he heard a groan from a few feet behind him. The voice was haggard and old man-sounding. He immediately placed who it was. Connor could feel his thirium pump speed up at the slight pain laced into the lieutenant’s voice.

“Lieutenant Anderson?” Connor pushed himself up and half-sprinted to the coming-to-consciousness lieutenant. The older man’s bright blue eyes were dulled slightly in the darkness of the… alley? that the two were in. Connor cast his worries about their current location to the side, his first protocol being making sure the lieutenant was okay and not in any danger. 

The lieutenant slowly brought himself up into a sitting-up position. Connor placed an awkward hand on his back, not quite knowing what to ask or say, but whenever the android was hurt, or if any of the other police officers in the precinct were hurt, he’d see the lieutenant place a hand on their back in a probable comforting gesture. The white and gray-haired man blinked a few times and his gruff voice was groggy with the after effects of waking up from passing out. 

“Wh’re t’hell ‘re we?” The older man asked and Connor took this moment to finally look into that. He tried to connect to Cyberlife’s network but he couldn’t… find it? Connor blinked and cleared away the red notification that said “Unable to connect to the network. Please check your connection and/or your receptors”. The android ran a quick receptor check, checking to see if the initial scan didn’t catch this.

**> >Processing_Receptor_Scan…**

**> >Receptor_Scan complete.**

**> >All systems fully operational.**

Connor frowned, a flash of a quick red “panic” notification popping up out of the corner of his vision. He tried again, again, again. No luck.

The android eventually just connects to the local network around, wi-fi not as strong as he was used to. He immediately looked to the date and their location.

Connor felt his thirium pump skip a beat when he finally saw the date and location: September 17, 2016. He blinked a few times, trying to recalibrate when he saw this, itching for his coin to aleve some of the tension building up in his thirium-filled veins. Lieutenant Anderson noticed his twitching hands and guarded expression Connor got when he was nervous or stressed.

“Connor?” The lieutenant's gruff voice was clearer than it had been before, noted Connor before finally snapping back into the present… wherever, or  _ whatever,  _ the present currently was. The dark-haired android sighed, his shoulders untensing, mimicking an action he often saw the lieutenant do during a stressful case or situation when he was trying to get his emotions back into check.

“It seems we are… not in Detroit anymore.” Connor spoke quietly, almost too quiet for the lieutenant’s ears to hear, the white and gray-haired man’s headache taking up most of his processing power at the moment. The lieutenant harrumphed, low voice bemused.

“This ain’t Wizard of Oz, kid.” Lieutenant Anderson grumbled, scuffing his well-worn brown boots against the scummy and gravelly ground. Connor shook his head, quickly looking up what Wizard of Oz was and the proposed reference the older detective was referring to. Once Connor satisfied his quick bout of curiosity, the RK800-model android cleared his throat and spoke again.

“We are… not in Detroit. We are in Queens, New York. It also seems that we are not in our correct timeline, either.” Connor said robotically, and the lieutenant scoffed, clearly disbelieving of Connor’s claims. His sharp blue eyes met the android’s deep brown ones.

“Kid, this ain’t the time for you start gainin’ a sense of humor.” Connor shook his head and clenched his fists, fingers itching for his coin to mess with. 

“I am not lying, Lieutenant Anderson. I do not have an answer as to why we are not in our correct timeline and location.” Connor felt what was like a lump built up in his throat as he checked his systems again and again, hoping that his systems had been wrong the entire time, that whatever had shut him off was affecting them in a weird way. No such luck.

A  _ boof _ sounded in the alley before the lieutenant could question the android any further. Connor turned towards the noise, expecting to see a stray dog finally noticing two people in its territory. The dark-haired android was pleasantly surprised to see Sumo, the lieutenant’s surly St. Bernard huffing his way towards his owner. 

“Hey, bud.” Lieutenant Anderson went down onto one knee and scratched lovingly behind the big dog’s ears. The detective sighed and looked to Connor again after a few more moments of scratching the emotional support animal. 

“So? Robot-brain, tell me more about our situation.” The older man sighed, eyelids drooping and he pulled a hand down his face, clearly frustrated and mumbling something about ‘needing a drink to deal with this shit’. Connor tapped his fingers against his Cyberlife-issued pants, slick but slightly scratchy material feeling soothing underneath his fingertips.

“Gladly, lieutenant.” Connor waited a few seconds, his ‘brain’ catching up quickly with the times they were currently stranded in. He sorted through the knowledge and news stories, and his mind seemingly ‘stuttered’ at the implications of the news.

“Well?” The older man made a ‘carry on’ gesture with his left hand, other hand occupied with scritching Sumo behind the ear. “You gonna just stand there like a broken refrigerator?” Connor frowned at the lieutenant at the comment but continued on nonetheless.

“It seems that we are in Queens, New York, in 2016. It is not our… dimension. Androids and Cyberlife have not been made yet; there is also no evidence that Elijah Kamski is in existence from what I’ve searched.” One of the lieutenant’s light-colored eyebrows rose in confusion, but he said nothing, waiting for the android to continue. Connor swallowed what felt like a lump in his vocal box-area. 

“The world seemingly sprinkled with superheroes; the more notable ones called the Avengers. Captain America, a man born in 1918, is leading the team of superheroes. The superhero team was founded when an alien invasion-” The lieutenant’s gruff voice interrupted the android, his hand that had long since stopped petting Sumo let go of the dog and he held up that hand.

“Wait, you’ve lost me. An alien invasion? Superheroes?” The lieutenant scoffed, but Connor could feel the distress coming off of him in waves. 

**> >Lieutenant_Anderson Stress_level: 78%^**

**> >Task: Calm_Lieutenant_Anderson**

** >>Task Level_of_importance: High**

**> >Task: Get_new_identities**

** >>Task Level_of_importance: Secondary**

**Task: Blend_in**

** >> Task Level_of_importance: Secondary**

“I assure you, lieutenant, there is no need for alarm. If you calm down, I can attain us a set of identities and secure you a job. I can also find out how we got here and ways to bring us back home.” Connor stated matter-of-factly, hoping that if he doesn’t look as panicked as he truly felt, the older man wouldn’t feel quite so distressed.

“That so?” The detective barked out a forced laugh and the android nodded. The older man just shook his head and he crossed his arms. Connor stared at him, looking into the white-haired man’s sharp blue ones for a few moments, not quite knowing what exactly to do.

“You gon’ get on with it or what?” The lieutenant asked, and Connor shook himself from whatever stupor he had gotten himself into. 

It was quite embarrassing, really, how easily Connor could hack into the government records, making the lieutenant his identity. Hank Anderson, born in Detroit September 6, 1963. He went to a nameless Detroit public school, grew up there, and was transferred from the DPD to the NYPD. His transfer will be complete on September 21, 2016. 

Connor waited for a few moments, thinking over the implications and troubles it could cause from the decision he was about to make, but he simply mentally sighed and went onto his ID. Connor Anderson, an orphan who was adopted by Hank Anderson when he was young after his parents died in a car crash and he was put into foster care. For some reason, when Connor implied put the official documents that he was Hank’s adoptive son, he felt his thirium pump tighten. The android ran a quick scan to make sure nothing was wrong with the pump, but nothing came up. Placated, Connor turned to the older man and nodded. 

“So what? We got identities now?” The lieutenant asked and Connor gave a quick nod of affirmation. The white and gray-haired man sighed loudly out of his nose and pointed towards the LED that was spinning blue on the android’s temple.

“Better cover that before someone asks what all that means.” Lieutenant Anderson said and Connor agreed and immediately looked around the alley way. The dark-haired android spotted a clean-enough black beanie and slipped it on over his head, effectively covering the spinning LED. The older detective then butted in once again as Connor was finishing up making sure the LED was covered. 

“May wanna ditch the jacket, too. Cyberlife doesn't exist in this ‘dimension’, right?” Connor hesitated for a second before quietly nodding his head and slipping the familiar jacket off, turning it inside out, and draping it over his arm. The android couldn’t explain it, but he felt naked without the jacket on. Like he was missing a part of himself without the comforting jacket on his body.

Suddenly, Sumo  _ boofed _ loudly and both Connor and the lieutenant quickly turned to where the big St. Bernard was looking and saw something- no, some _ one _ strange hanging onto the wall by his red-gloved fingertips. Lieutenant Anderson quietly whispered under his breath a quick “what the hell?” and Connor could feel the sentiment.

The man(?) dropped from the side of the wall with sudden abandon, making the lieutenant subtly, but instinctively, reach for the gun in his holster hidden underneath his warm brown leather jacket. The man in the skin-tight suit with large white bug eyes tilted his head at the strange trio in the alleyway.

“Are you guys lost?” A surprisingly young-sounding voice emitted from the man (boy) who was presumably a superhero asked them. The young-sounding voice didn’t escape from the lieutenant’s attention and Connor could see him relax slightly, hand dropping away from the gun hidden underneath his jacket. After there was no answer for a few seconds, the boy superhero put his hands behind his back and rocked on the balls of his feet, making him appear even younger than what his voice implied.

“Uh, yes, we are lost.” Connor eventually spoke, blinking away all the notifications his processor was running about the young superhero in front of them, trying to figure out who it was in the thousands of superheroes that were running around the city of New York alone.

“Well, I can help you guys!” The hero said and Connor looked to the lieutenant with a quick question in his eyes. The lieutenant sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose as Sumo made his way over to the hero happily.

“Who’re you, anyways?” The lieutenant asked and the eyes on the mask of the hero widened for a second before they squinted. Connor tilted his head the emotional display of the eye-lenses before the young voice piped up again.

“I’m Spider-Man!” Spider-Man said and both Connor and Lieutenant Anderson heard the smile in his voice. 

“I’m too goddamn old for this.” Connor could hear the lieutenant whisper. Connor agreed with the sentiment.


	2. the strange world

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> connor, hank, and sumo are led to their new home by the hero known as spider-man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh my god y'all, the amount of kudos on the last chapter just ;u; y'all know how to treat an enby right.

“Where are you guys from?” Peter asked the two strange people he found in the alleyway. One of the two people, the older one with white hair named ‘Hank’ looked grumpily at the boy walking a few paces behind Peter. ‘Connor’, the young hero recalled as his name, merely kept his gaze down towards the sidewalk and clenching his fists and flicking his fingers from time to time.

“We’re from Detroit.” Hank responded eventually, slowly, as if he was tasting the words on his tongue before telling the teen. It was strange, but Peter had met stranger. Also, the two people had a dog, a  _ very _ well-fed one at that, so how bad could they be? Anyone who was nice to dogs was a good person in Peter’s book.

“Oh, cool! I’ve never been there but I’ve heard it’s pretty.” Peter said conversationally. Hank huffed a laugh as if the young hero had said something funny. Sumo happily chuffed when the older man patted the St. Bernard’s big head. Peter was confused at the display, but just shrugged it off. Maybe the part of Detroit they were from was not pretty? Maybe that’s why they’re in New York?

“Where are you guys headed to?” Peter asked a few minutes after walking through the streets of queens before he realized he didn’t know where they were going. Hank blinked a bit and looked to Connor who was still seemingly in his own dimension, not paying attention to the conversation going on. The white-haired man lightly shoulder-checked the boy and Connor blinked, as if he were coming back to reality. He squinted his eyes for a second, as if he were trying to remember something when he finally relaxed his shoulders that Peter hadn’t even realized were tense in the first place. 

“4683 Riverside Drive.” Connor finally said after a few moments, surprising Peter. The teen hadn’t even realized that Connor was paying enough attention to answer the question he had asked. Shaking off the slight shock, Peter looked to where Karen was pulling up a quick GPS to where the address location was. Once he had the map in the corner of his hub, Peter turned towards the two people and the dog with a grin they couldn’t see, but the eyes showed it well enough.

“Okay, yeah, I know where that is. Follow me!” Peter said and the two nodded. Sumo was bumbling along, sniffing the air and wagging his tail as his tongue lolled out of his mouth from the slight summer heat that hadn’t left, even in the mid-September chill that Queens usually had. 

Connor was back to looking towards the ground, weaving through people, and even dodging those who had stopped to stare at the masked hero leading them around. It was slightly impressive, Peter had to admit, how well the other teen avoided contact with the other people around them. Hank bumped into some and Sumo and co. were stopped more than once to have people ask the blue-eyed man if they could pet his dog.

About halfway through their trek towards the apartment complex, Peter was getting a little bored without talking. He was okay with silences, but he had to admit to himself that he wanted to know why an old man, a teenager, and a dog were in an old and dirty alleyway. 

“So, Spider-Man, huh?” Hank asked before Peter could even open his mouth enough to ask his question, catching the teen off guard. Peter blinked then nodded.

“You don’t seem to have eight legs, so why’re you called that?” The older man asked, and before Peter could reply, he tacked on a quick, “why would you let yourself be called that,” with humor in his sharp blue eyes.

“Oh, yeah, ha,” Peter thought of what to say before Connor piped up, interrupting the young hero (something that was seemingly becoming a common theme).

“It’s because he can climb walls, much like a spider. He also swings around and captures assailants with web-like substances, and he, as far as the news can tell, has the proportional strength of a spider.” Connor said matter-of-factly and Hank merely nodded, as if the teen speaking with such facts like that was common. Peter was taken a bit off guard (and a bit creeped out) about how detailed Connor was, but was also kind of honored that the other teen had known so much about him (or Spider-Man anyways). But something didn’t feel right to Peter. Hank had asked who Peter was, and both him and Connor seemed like they hadn’t known who Spider-Man was, yet here was Connor. He was spouting facts that were pretty common knowledge (sans the proportional strength of a spider one) like he knew a  _ lot _ about Spider-Man.

Strange.

“Makes sense, I guess.” Hank shrugged and that was that. Peter could think more on that when he was at the tower with Mr. Stark, and he could get some more intel on the two strange people he had found lost in an alleyway.

Peter and Hank turned to see a kid stopping his mother, tugging on her sleeve and asking if he could pet Sumo. She shook her head good-naturedly and pulled her son along, saying that they have a dog at home he can pet later. The young hero smiled a bit at the interaction, a dull pang of sadness pinging in his chest at the sight. The scene reminded him of his time with Aunt May, an interaction that would’ve happened rather recently if she hadn’t kicked him out due to his heroic hobby. 

Peter’s aunt was one of the greatest there was, a strong woman with a good heart and a goofy but kind smile. But she had “needed time” to deal with the fact that Peter was a superhero. The teen had understood, albeit sadly, that she probably  _ did _ need the time away from him. She had only lost her husband a year previous and she had seen on the news her nephew in life-threatening danger when he fought the vulture. 

Mr. Stark had taken him in when he realized that, while he could stay with Ned, the Leeds couldn’t have supported Peter the way he needed and he didn’t want to endanger them with the potential enemies (like the vulture) that could hurt them when he couldn’t protect him. Mr. Stark had gotten a call from his Aunt May, so he was alerted and he immediately took Peter in. The teen assumed it was because he felt bad about taking the suit away from Peter and he had gotten hurt (totally not Mr. Stark’s fault  _ at all _ ). 

So, now he was living in the tower with Mr. Stark and while Peter missed seeing his aunt everyday after school, he was glad he was with Mr. Stark, his childhood hero and idol. He was nice and when they worked in the lab together it was amazing. Nothing could ever make Peter happier than in those moments where he  _ impressed _ Mr. Stark

Peter eventually broke out of his thoughts and realized he was only about twenty-or-so feet away from the trio’s destination. Connor hadn’t stopped looking at the ground, Peter noticed, which was a little strange, but maybe he was shy? Hank was looking a bit pained, as if he had a headache. But Sumo seemed fine and happy as he boofed quietly at Peter. The teen smiled at the dog and stopped a few seconds later, startling Hank but Connor seemed to stop at the same time as Peter.

“This the place?” Peter asked and Hank flitted his electric blue eyes to Connor, who had stopped looking at the ground to see the tall apartment complex. His deep brown eyes flitted over the building, as if checking something before he nodded.

“Yes, this is our address. Thank you, Spider-Man.” Connor said and Peter gave a quick smile and a nod of his head.

“Yeah, no problem! Don’t end up in anymore dirty alleyways, though. I won’t always be there to bring you guys home.” Peter lightly joked and Connor seemed to attempt at a smile, his lips quirking upwards a tiny bit, but not quite meeting his eyes. His brown eyes seemed stressed, and Peter wanted to ask, but figured it would be rude to ask a near-stranger about why he was stressed in the middle of the street.

“Well, hopefully I’ll see you around!” Peter  _ thwipped _ a web from his web-shooter to a nearby building and Hank seemed a little shocked, as he tensed up at the sight of the web shooting out of the wrist of the young superhero. Peter thought he could hear a quiet  _ “what the hell…” _ from the older man, but Peter wasn’t quite sure, so he didn’t comment. Connor seemed fine, if, as previously stated, a bit stressed. But Peter figured Hank could handle that.

“Bye!” Peter yelled as he swung away. He looked back but the two people and the dog were already walking inside, not watching the young hero swing away into the afternoon sun. 

_ What a strange couple of people…  _ Peter thought to himself, before shrugging it off and making his way towards the Stark Tower in the distance.


	3. the new apartment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> connor, hank, and sumo all start to settle into their new apartment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BRO ALL THE COMMENTS I GOT FROM THE PREVIOUS CHAPTERS HAVE MADE ME SO SO HAPPY. Y'ALL ARE DOING GOD'S WORK AAA!!

“So, Spider-Man, huh?” Hank asked, recalling his previous comment to said superhero, as he shoved the key into the wooden door’s gold-painted lock of their new apartment. Connor looked up at the older man. If the older man could’ve seen the LED circling brightly on the side of the android’s head, he would’ve seen a steady yellow color. Connor felt all he had been doing since they had woke up in this strange new dimension  _ was _ process. His mind, although as advanced as it was, was never prepared for this kind of situation. 

Connor eventually realized that he hadn’t respsonded to the lieutenant’s query(?), and the other man was looking at him expectantly, as if waiting for some sort of comment or answer from the android. Said android had no idea what to say, feeling overly out of his element, and simply nodded. The lieutenant just sighed, shook his head, and finally opened the door into their new shared apartment, Sumo trodding along happily in tow. Connor was left confused by the interaction, but carried on nonetheless. It wouldn’t be the first time that the brown-eyed android was confused by the lieutenant’s reactions.

The apartment was a simple one. Two bedrooms, a small kitchen, a small, out-of-the-way bathroom,and a decently large living room. The furniture was rather plain, a few simple chairs and wooden dressers and tables decorated the space. The place had appliances already, Connor had looked into that when he was searching for an apartment for the two and the dog to inhabit. 

Lieutenant Anderson walked off to the far bedroom, the one nearest to the bathroom and loudly claimed it as his. Connor could feel a small smile turn up on his lips at the slight petulance the older man was showing, but nevertheless, he made his way to the second bedroom.

When Connor stepped into the bedroom and flipped on the switch for the light, the dark-haired android was greeted to a quaint little room. The walls were painted a sky blue with a white ceiling and dark wood floors. The floors were a little scratched up, presumably from the previous owners and the moving of furniture. The bed’s covers were a thick duvet, dark blue in color with a white bed sheet to cover the mattress. When Connor sat down on the bed, sinking into it slightly, but not enough to show its age, he set his Cyberlife jacket down on the bed, it’s dark gray color blending into the deep blue of the duvet.

As Connor stared at the article of clothing and the thick blanket, he finally let the entire situation at hand hit him. It felt like tidal waves crashing up against his back (even though he had never been to a beach of  _ any _ sort). The pressure was massive, and everything suddenly felt like  _ too much _ for Connor’s processors to handle. The thirium that pumped through his “veins” felt thick; as if the liquid was getting stuck and clumping together (which was impossible). 

Connor’s fingers itched for his coin, but during their impromptu trip with Spider-Man back to the apartment, Connor surmised that the coin the android was so familiar with didn’t come with the three. Maybe he had left it on the desk at the precinct? Connor didn’t know and, maybe, Connor wouldn’t  _ ever _ find out. What if whatever had gotten them here in the first place was a one-time thing? Connor couldn’t remember anything that would’ve even  _ remotely _ gotten them in this situation. 

One minute the lieutenant, Connor, and Sumo were walking home from a long day at the precinct, working on a big case about one of Elijah Kamski’s androids that Markus had wanted the RK800 to look into. The next minute the trio had woken up in an old alleyway in the middle of Queens, New York in 2016, in a world filled with Superheroes and mutants, villains, the whole shebang. Then they were  _ walked _ home by a neighborhood hero.

(A neighborhood hero that was spotted fighting with the so-called hero Ironman during what the media dubbed as the “Civil War” between the two opposing sides of the Avengers. Connor hadn’t looked too far into the case of the civil war between the two sides of the superhero team, but he sure was curious about it).

“Connor, what’re we doing about dinner?” The lieutenant broke the android from his thoughts, and he sighed out a breath (something he didn’t need to do, but he felt the  _ need  _ to do it. Deviancy was weird, Connor decided, not for the first time since he ‘came to’). 

Connor clenched his fists together, hard enough to even make crescent-shaped marks from his artificial fingernails onto his usually smooth skin. He stood up, feeling shaking even though he had never been programmed to  _ feel _ shaky, and made his way towards the lieutenant. The white-haired man was petting Sumo, who  _ boofed _ happily as he saw Connor enter the living room, his brown shaggy tail wagging as the android approached. Connor tried a smile, and Sumo simply kept wagging his tail and soaking in the attention from his owner.

“We can order take-out while I tell you of our new identities while you eat.” Connor said and the lieutenant nodded.

Connor couldn’t explain it, but he felt something that felt like a stone settling in his stomach as he realized he was going to have to tell Lieutenant Anderson that he had legally made Connor his ward. 

But that was a problem for later Connor, the android decided and simply asked what the lieutenant wanted to eat, and got onto calling the Thai place a few corners down that had good reviews. Too much larb, some of the reviews had said, but the lieutenant didn’t seem too picky about things like that.

Connor ordered the food, took a moment to process everything and what audio prompts he was going to say, and sat down to tell the lieutenant of their new identities.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope y'all liked this chapter! i know it's short, but i still hope it's enjoyable!


	4. i can't tell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> connor gets rid of his led.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THE COMMENTS ARE THE ONLY THING KEEPING ME SANE IN THIS QUARANTINE THANK Y'ALL SO MUCH Y'ALL ARE DARLINGS.

“So it’s a boy, eh?” The lieutenant muttered to himself, rubbing a tired hand down his face as he ate a couple bites of some sort of Thai food that the name escaped Connor at that moment. The android couldn’t quite place the reaction of the lieutenant.

“I’m sorry, lieutenant, the idea seemed to make the most sense at the time and I-” Connor began but was cut off by a wave of the older man’s hand. Sharp and intelligent electric blue eyes looked into the android’s manufactured deep brown ones. If Connor could sweat, he would’ve. It was a strange feeling, the android mused lightly in his head, to be under the scrutinizing gaze of the lieutenant once again. Of course Connor had been under such a gaze by the man, even after becoming a deviant, but it felt  _ different _ this time.

“I’m not sayin’ it was the wrong decision, Connor.” The lieutenant pinched the upper bridge of his nose, a motion he often did when a headache was coming along. The brown-haired android in the room felt out of place, and felt like his skin was too tight on his body. The itching for his coin was back with a force so great it felt more like a compulsion than a simple  _ want _ at this point. Connor clenched his fists and he began to shake his leg. Up and down, up and down, up and down, up down, up down, updown, updownupdownup _ downupdownup _ \- 

“You good there, son?” Lieutenant Anderson broke Connor from his thoughts and the shaking of Connor’s leg stopped, and the itch in his fingers for his coin came back with a vengeance. A couple of small tasks in the side of his vision came into view and Connor processed it quickly.

**> >Stress_level: 68%^**

**> >Task: Lower_stress_level**

>> **Task Level_of_importance: High**

**> >Task: Find_new_coin**

** >>Task Level_of_importance: Secondary**

Connor eventually realized he had never responded to the lieutenant and he blinked a few times before nodding his head.

“Of course, lieutenant. I am a-”  _ machine _ “a-at full-functioning capacity.” Connor stumbled over his words, and of course Lieutenant Anderson noticed this and raised a gray eyebrow at the android. The white-haired man simply shook his head and said  _ “damn androids” _ under his breath. Connor’s shoulders untensed at this, surprising the android with the fact that his shoulders were even  _ tense _ in the first place.

“Anyways, Connor,” the lieutenant looked at the brown-haired android and pointed to the slightly dirty beanie said android was currently wearing. Connor tilted his head as he waited for the older policeman to finish.

“We should probably get rid of your LED. Don’t want to risk someone findin’ out ‘bout your… robot-ness.” The lieutenant said and Connor froze. If the android could’ve seen his LED in that moment, he  _ knew _ it would be spinning a bright and threatening red on his forehead. Lieutenant Anderson seemed to realize this as well. His sharp gaze softened the smallest bit and he put his hands palm-up on the small wooden dining table.

“I know it’s not what you’d like to do. Hell, I don’t really want to see you without an LED either. It’ll be fucking  _ weird _ .” The lieutenant said and when Connor didn’t say anything, the white-haired man sighed through his nose, mumbling for a second time that day  _ “I’m too goddamn old for this” _ . 

“Look, Connor,” the android brought his gaze to the lieutenant’s and Connor saw genuine empathy coming from the man. “I know it’s not ideal, but if we wanna get home without people questionin’ what you are, you’re gonna have to get rid of any evidence of you bein’ an android.” The lieutenant pointed at the spot where the LED was underneath the hat. “We can get you another one of those fancy things when we get back, yeah?”

Connor eventually unfroze himself at the lieutenant’s slightly gentle voice. He nodded quietly and didn’t meet Lieutenant Anderson’s eyes for a few seconds, allowing his processors to, well,  _ process _ everything that was going on. Connor blinked a few times, and something that felt suspiciously  _ wet _ in his eyes formed before he blinked it away rapidly. He turned to the lieutenant.

“Do you have your pocket knife with you, lieutenant?” Connor asked at a normal-voice level, but the words felt heavy in his mouth. Like his tongue didn’t fit in his mouth correctly(of course it actually  _ did _ fit right in his mouth, Cyberlife was sure to make sure that their prototype had no speech problems, for interrogation purposes). 

Connor was broken from his train of thought when he felt the cool metal handle of the lieutenant’s pocket knife touch his hand. Connor stared at the knife for a lot longer than he probably should’ve, but he finally blinked away the pressure behind his eyes before taking off the beanie and bringing the knife up to the side of his forehead, his temple.

“Be careful, Connor.” The lieutenant’s voice cut through the static that was starting to fill the android’s ears. The brown-eyed android looked into the lieutenant’s gentle gaze of blue. Connor’s thirium pump slowed down it’s rapid beating slightly.

“I will be, lieutenant.” Connor assured and put the cold tip of the metal knife slightly underneath the bright LED and tilted up until it came loose. As the small  _ plink _ of the LED hitting the table seemed to deafen Connor, the android felt a warm hand clap against his shoulder.

“And kid?” Connor looked to the lieutenant and saw a rare soft smile gracing the older man’s face. 

“I think you can call me Hank now, since I’m legally your dad in this world an’ all.” The lieu- no  _ Hank _ said in a small voice and Connor could only nod before responding.

“Of course, Hank.” Connor replied just as softly before he picked up the LED off the table and slipped it into his pocket, it seemed to weigh more than Connor knew it actually did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope it wasn't too obnoxious, but the whole coin thing with connor is his stimming outlet. i often chew things, bounce my leg, blink rapidly, or pick at my lip to stim. i hope y'all liked this chapter!! if you did, tell me about it! if you didn't tell me about that too! 
> 
> till next time!!


	5. some days

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> peter, once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THANK Y'ALL FOR THE RESPONSE ON THE FIRST FOUR CHAPTERS!!
> 
> sorry this chapter is so short, i have a massive headache and i need to work on finishing my schoolwork. after next tuesday though i'm free from the confines of hell known as highschool for another summer. 
> 
> hope y'all like the quick chapter, i'm so inspired to write and i wanna try and update as often as i can. hope y'all understand why it's so short ;u;

As Peter swung past his-  _ Aunt May’s _ \- apartment, the teenage boy felt a pang of guilt and something a little deeper settle itself deeply in his chest. He liked Mr. Stark a lot, don’t get him wrong, but he just… wasn’t  _ May _ . Mr. Stark was there for him when he had no adult he could go to. Sure, he could’ve gone to the Leeds’, but he actually  _ couldn’t _ . The Leeds had too much strain on them already. Mrs. Leeds was super nice, and so was Mr. Leeds, but being nice didn’t equal  _ money _ . Peter had also considered going to MJ’s, but he didn’t exactly  _ know _ her parents. He didn’t want to intrude on anyone either, didn’t want to become a burden.

Then Mr. Stark showed up and swooped in, taking Peter off his unsteady feet and holding him in the air. But Peter didn’t want to be held up, he wanted to be able to stand on his own, preferably with Aunt May not too far away. Mr. Stark would also be there, in a perfect world.

Peter was broken from his thoughts when he heard a quiet but insistent ringing coming from his phone. The teenage boy quickly landed on the roof of an apartment complex and brought out the ringing device. The ID of  _ “Mr. ‘we’re-not-there-yet’ Stark” _ was the offending person who was calling him. 

“Hey, Mr. Stark. What’s up?” Peter answered the phone and he could hear the man setting down some sort of tool on what was probably either the floor or a workbench. Peter tapped his fingers absently on his thigh as he waited for a response from the man.

“Hey, Pete. Pep wanted to know what you’d like for dinner.” Mr. Stark said and the teenage boy could hear a slightly muffled _ “shit” _ as the man on the other side of the phone probably poked himself on a wire or something. The boy felt a small smile forming at the clumsiness of his childhood idol. 

“Um, whatever you guys would like is- is fine by me.” Peter eventually answered and internally scolded himself for the slight stutter. The boy hated being asked his opinion on things, or having his decision be  _ the _ decision. It just made him anxious. 

“Well, how does italian sound then?” Mr. Stark asked and Peter nodded before he realized the man couldn’t actually  _ see _ him nodding his head and he almost wanted to drop dead with how stupid that was. But, Peter relented against that instinct and responded after a few seconds of awkward silence.

“Uh, yeah sure. Yeah, that sounds great. Thanks Mr. Stark.” The mechanic on the other side of the line gave an affirmative  _ “yup” _ and hung up. Peter sighed as the phone call ended. The teenager slipped his phone into his backpack that he had picked up from some alleyway around Aunt May’s place. Peter put down the backpack then unceremoniously flopped down, facing the sky on the top of the apartment complex. He splayed his body out, soaking in the evening sun.

The boy thought back on the weird alleyway-people as he looked at the sky, watching a few pigeons make their way across the sky. You don’t often find new people to New York lost on their way to their own apartment, but Peter guessed it was possible. The teenage boy simply sighed after a minute of musing, then got up. His bones cracked a little bit as he stretched and he grabbed his backpack, slung it over his shoulder, and started his trip back to the tower once again. He’d probably never see the two weird alleyway-people ever again, so Peter let it drop from his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well, that was kind of a filler-ish chapter, but i'm trying to establish everyone's character so far. i haven't written a marvel/d:bh fanfic in a long time, so bear with me as i try and figure everyone out. right now, i'm just feeling out everyone's characters and set them up for their arcs and development and all.
> 
> hope y'all enjoyed!
> 
> till next time!!


	6. the breakfast club

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hank and connor watch the breakfast club.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope y'all like this chapter, i pumped this one out while waiting for my therapist to call me lol.
> 
> i also made it longer than the last chapter, so i hope that helps too!

A few days later, the lieuten-  _ Hank _ \- brought up that Connor would be going to high school, a highly prestigious one called Midtown High. The android nodded his agreement with the statement as he folded the clothes that they had bought a couple days prior. Hank was leaning on the doorway, arms crossed and a slight smirk lining his slightly-wrinkled face, blue eyes filled with mirth.

“It’s gonna be a real treat.” Hank said and Connor stopped his folding to look at the older man with a slight hint of confusion.

“What is going to be a ‘treat’?” Connor asked and Hank shook his head and the slight smirk turned into a bigger grin. The man stopped leaning on the doorway, and Sumo butted his head into the small bedroom, panting and wagging his tail.

“You, trying to fit in with regular  _ human _ high schoolers.” Hank stated and the android blinked a bit, trying to organize the thoughts that the statement the older man had made Connor think. The brown-haired android eventually shook his head and began his rebuttal of the lieutenant’s claim.

“Cyberlife made me able to integrate seamlessly into human society-” Connor started but was interrupted by a bark of laughter from Hank. Connor furrowed his brows, confusion taking over. Just as the android began to open his mouth to question the older man, Hank spoke again, laughter in his voice.

“Son, you’re like someone stuck a stick so far up your ass, you couldn’t shit it out even if you tried.” Hank shook his head, good mood carrying its way towards Connor, even if the android was confused about the “stick up the ass” thing. He looked it up and saw it was a metaphor of sorts. With that curiosity satiated, Connor turned his attention back to the white-haired man.

“Hank, I believe I’ll be able to integrate and immerse myself into high school life easily. I am programmed to be able to respond to any situation.” Connor said matter-of-factly, and he went back to folding the clothes in front of him and putting them away into the dark wooden dresser and closet.

“Whatever you say, Con.” Hank shook his head, smiling, and he then left the room. Sumo went over and gave Connor a quick wet kiss on his hand and then went to go and follow his owner once again. The android let out a quiet sigh of relief, glad that the older man wouldn’t be able to see how… nervous? Connor was. 

In all honesty, Connor was  _ very _ nervous about going to Midtown High. He had trouble “fitting in” at the precinct back in his world. He also had trouble “fitting in” with his own  _ people _ , so how in the world was he going to “seamlessly integrate himself” into high school? 

Connor looked to the small wallet on the old wooden nightstand next to his bed and he made his way over to it. He opened up the wallet and grabbed a quarter, ran his thumbs over the engraved detailing over the coin, feeling slightly soothed by the motion and feeling. The android began to do his coin tricks, the cool metal of the coin running over his fingers. The familiarity of the flick of the coin into his other hand and the repeating cycle of the motion gave Connor a feeling of peace. 

Connor calibrated his systems during this time, kind of doing a “zoning out” that Hank often does when he’s hungover or deep in thought. He felt less nervous while doing his coin tricks, even if the coin wasn’t the same size as the one he used to have with him back in his world. But it was soothing nonetheless. While he calibrated with the quarter, Connor started to think of things to do to try and make his integration into Midtown High as painless (figuratively) as possible.

Maybe if he looked up funny videos or jokes that are often referenced, much like how Hank did with his friends or acquaintances back at the precinct? Hank often told Connor that he wasn’t very funny when he was  _ trying _ to be, but he was hilarious when he  _ wasn’t _ trying to be. Which made absolutely  _ no _ sense to Connor. But he digresses. Looking into popular culture would be a good idea, he concluded and with a little nod of his head and quickly grabbing the coin out of the air, Connor made his way towards the living room where Hank was sprawled out on the couch. He was watching some sort of news broadcast.

“Hank?” Connor called out hesitantly. The older man and Sumo both turned their heads towards the android. Hank muted the TV and Connor took that as his cue to sit down on the chair next to the couch. 

“Yeah?” Hank questioned and the android blinked a bit, again sorting through his thoughts and picked a dialogue option.

“Do you know any movies that are in this world that would be beneficial for me to watch so that I have an easier time integrating into high school?” The android asked. Hank raised a single gray eyebrow and then his eyes turned up to think for a minute. He then took out his new phone (a Stark phone) and looked up what was presumably a movie for them to watch. Connor felt like he was holding his breath (which was nonsensical, Connor didn’t need to  _ breathe _ ) when the older man finally spoke.

“Yeah, _ The Breakfast Club _ is pretty good. I can broadcast this YouTube video to the TV, I think.” Hank said and Connor’s shoulders dropped their tenseness and he felt a small smile quirk at his lips.

“Now don’t you look up anything ‘bout this movie. It’s a classic and you don’t need spoilers for it.” Hank pointed an accusing finger at the android and Connor’s smile grew and he nodded, shutting off the program that was automatically looking up what _ The Breakfast Club _ was. 

Hank and Connor went quiet as the movie started, Sumo making his way over to the couch and plopping down onto the piece of furniture. He placed his giant head on his owner’s lap and Hank began to scratch lightly behind the big dog’s ears.

Connor couldn’t help but feel a sense of peace as he watched the movie with what was, now  _ legally _ , his family. The android smiled and then tuned back into the movie, the good mood not leaving his face the entire time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm somft.


	7. the new student

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> peter meets connor out of his superhero suit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TWO UPDATES IN A DAY?? uh yeah, i sure hope so ;u;
> 
> i'm so happy to introduce the angels that are ned and mj into my story!! hope you enjoy them too. i love them with all my heart.

Walking into Midtown High, shifting his book bag on his shoulders to a more comfortable position, Peter sighed. He had forgotten about his English homework for that day, some grammar checks and an analysis of a book Peter couldn’t be bothered to remember the name of. He was going to ask MJ or Ned for a quick peek at their answers. Mr. Stark would do the whole “I’m not mad, just disappointed” thing if he forgot about his homework. Homework was something Peter was supposed to do before he did his “extracurricular” activities.

The teenager sighed as he put his book bag away, a little forceful as he did so. MJ walked up behind him, and his “spidey-sense” tingled before the girl could scare Peter from her grasping his hips suddenly. Peter still jumped, for appearances though.

“Hey, nerd.” MJ smirked. Her hair was done in its usual messy- but pretty- fashion. It was tied up in a loose ponytail at the base of her head. She was wearing a “Save the trees and the bees” white t-shirt with her green jacket. She was also wearing some paint-covered black jeans and black combat boots. Peter smiled at the girl, finished getting his books for his physical science class, and shut his locker quickly.

“Hey, MJ. What’s up?” Peter asked as the duo made their way towards Ned’s locker, dodging their peers as they did so. The girl shrugged, a good-natured grin settling on her face.

“Not much, just protesting social issues, as per usual.” She said and Peter smiled at that, shifting the books in his arms so they wouldn’t fall. 

“What social issues this time?” The boy asked and as MJ was going to answer, Peter was met by a sudden body in front of him, bumping him back a little bit. The teenage boy quickly changed his grip on his books so they wouldn’t fall and he looked up to see who the offending person was. He was surprised, to say the least.

“I’m sorry, are you alright?” Said Connor, the boy from the alleyway that Peter had helped him, his dad, and his dog get home a few days prior. The teenage boy in front of Peter was looking at him with a concerned expression, eyebrows downturned and deep brown eyes almost mirroring Peter’s own, if a little darker. Connor’s hair drooped a little in front of his eyes, styled in a way that looked almost professional. The boy was wearing a blue sweater and a button-up underneath it. Peter eventually realized, belatedly, that he hadn’t responded.

“Uh, y-yeah. I’m fine, thank you.” Peter assured the other teen and Connor seemed to cock his head to the side for a second, as if thinking before blinking whatever thought away and trying a small smile on his face. Peter could see a couple of freckles that were near his eyes as they crinkled with the smile.

“Are you new here?” MJ eventually asked, shifting her books from her left arm to her right. Connor looked at the girl and seemed to size her up before looking away from her eyes and looking at the ground for a second and looking back up to meet her gaze.

“Yes, I am new here. My name’s Connor.” Connor nodded and MJ took on a contemplative look, her brown eyes turning calculating before she shrugged.

“Welcome to Midtown Hell, I guess.” MJ smirked and Connor simply tilted his head, as if he were confused, but smiled at the teenage girl anyways. 

“Hey guys!” Ned’s enthusiastic voice called out to his friends. Connor also perked up at the announcement made by the teen rushing towards them. 

“What’s up, Ned?” Peter said at the same time as MJ said “‘Sup, loser.” Ned’s grin was infectious and Peter glanced at Connor, who was looking slightly uncomfortable, his brows turned inwards just a bit. Ned stopped once he saw the extra teen next to his other friends. He cocked his head and looked at Peter with an obvious expression on his face saying  _ “who’s this?” _ .

“Ned, this is Connor. Connor, this is Ned Leeds.” Peter introduced the two and Ned grinned at Connor and the other teen returned the favor, only looking marginally nervous as he did so. 

“Hate to break up… whatever this is,” MJ suddenly interrupted and cocked her heads towards the clock to her left, showing the time as 7:42. Three minutes till class. “But we need to get to class. What class do you have, Connor?” The girl asked the other teen and Connor immediately responded with “Physical science.” Peter perked up.

“Me too! Wanna walk together?” Peter caught the smirk MJ was giving him and his face flushed a bit before he tacked on a quick “Since it’s your first time going there and all”. Connor seemed to take pity on the boy and just smiled and nodded at him.

“I would greatly appreciate that.” Connor smiled and Peter saw the freckles near his eyes crinkle again and the boy flushed  _ again _ , which was  _ annoying _ . 

“See you two nerds later.” MJ said and Ned flashed an embarrassing thumbs up to Peter and the teenage boy just turned red and turned around quickly, muttering a quick  _ “Let’s go” _ to Connor, who just seemed kind of confused about the whole situation, and just followed Peter to Mrs. Obaugh’s physical science class just down the hallway, face red the entire way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> peter has a crush-at-first-sight because connor do be real cute tho. 
> 
> i will state this now so i can avoid any misinterpretations: connor in my story is portrayed as a teen and /not/ an adult. he will never /be/ an adult in this story. his mental state is that of a teenager in this story and the eventual romantic relationship between peter and connor will /not/ be in any way, shape, or form, a relationship where one of them is an adult and the other a kid/teenager. 
> 
> they're just going to have some soft teen-level romance. nothing above that :)
> 
> hope that clears up any confusion or second-thoughts about this story. lmk if you want to suggest something!


	8. science, english, and being invited to lunch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> connor enjoys his first time in school for his first five periods.
> 
> mj and ned make fun of peter's obvious puppy-crush while connor remains blissfully unaware.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THANK Y'ALL SO MUCH FOR THE RESPONSE ON ALL THE CHAPTERS. YOU GUYS ROCK!!
> 
> enjoy this new chapter :D i may update again today. sorry if these recent chapters seem filler-y. they're just setting up the story, which is mostly a coming of age story of peter and connor learning to grow as people (and androids).

Connor realized soon why most high schoolers loathed school. It was boring. Oh so _very_ boring. The android was looking at the worksheet in front of him; the answers were already completed in his head but he _knew_ it’d be strange if he had finished all the questions before anyone else. He was trying to _blend_ _in_ , being freakishly smart would be detrimental to that. 

He looked over to Peter (the boy eventually realized he had never  _ properly _ introduced himself and Connor was stuck calling him Spider-Man in his head, which would be counterproductive) who was quietly filling in the answers at a fairly impressive rate for a human. As far as Connor could tell, he was also getting all of them right, except-

“The answer is 1,209 newtons,” Connor corrected quietly and it seemed to break Peter’s concentration and workflow as the other teen looked at the android with a questioning expression.

“You forgot the negative sign on 209. Simple mistake.” Connor said and Peter’s eyebrows furrowed as he turned back to the problem he had just finished and he looked at his work on the side and his eyebrows raised a little bit in recognition. The brown-haired boy looked at Connor with a slightly on-edge smile.

“Thanks, man.” Peter said and Connor smiled and nodded at him. The other boy’s cheeks were slightly tinged pink, which confused Connor but maybe Peter was just warm? Connor shrugged it off and turned back to his work after a minute and began writing down the answers. He had downloaded a few handwriting fonts so he wouldn’t be writing in Cyberlife sans, so the numbers and letters were messier and less clear than they usually were, but were neater than most high schoolers’ handwriting.

The rest of the class went off without a hitch. As did the next one, and the one after that, all of them, including fifth period went by just as well. MJ, Peter, and Ned were in a couple of Connor’s classes, and they were all together in fourth period: English. During fifth period, the android saw MJ subtly slip Peter her homework and the boy shot her a thankful grin. Ned was going on about some show or movie (Star Wars) and Peter politely told him he had to get his work done, then he’d be happy to  _ also _ rant about Star Wars with the Filipino boy.

Connor rested his head on his hand as the teacher (Ms. Murray) droned on about the diction and syntax in  _ To Kill a Mockingbird _ . As the android had the entire internet’s interpretations and essays on the classic book, Connor was  _ bored _ . He knew  _ why _ the words chosen and the sentence structure was the way it was. Peter seemed to be bored as well, Connor noticed. He was drumming his fingers against the desk rythemecially, brown eyes flickering to the clock every few minutes. MJ looked interested in whatever the teacher was saying, and Ned was watching a Netflix show on his phone underneath his desk with the subtitles on.

Finally, Ms. Murray was cut off by a bell, and all the students had packed up their things five minutes ago and were already out the door. Connor gathered up the materials and homework he was given by the teachers (a lot of work, if Connor was being honest, but it wouldn’t take long. Connor  _ was _ a Cyberlife prototype model, the most advanced of his kind).

MJ bumped him with her hip as he stood up and pushed his chair in. Connor was taken slightly by surprise but his face remained neutral. She was looking him in the eyes with her own brown ones and Connor felt the urge to  _ look away _ , but he stayed firm.

“Hello, Michelle. What would you like?” Connor had heard her full name when the teacher had called on her earlier in the class. He had also done a facial-recognition scan on her and saw her family history. She came from a divorced family, her dad having full custody of her and her two little brothers, Albert and Benjamin Jones. Her father, Christian Jones, was a hardworking man who worked two jobs; one as a construction worker and another as a janitor for some nameless office building.

“Peter, during third, wouldn’t shut up ‘bout you and said he was too nervous to ask you to eat lunch with us. Ned agrees, he wants to meet you too.” MJ said simply and Connor nodded, feeling slightly relieved that he didn’t have to ask to sit next to them or  _ anyone _ for that matter. 

“It’d be a pleasure.” Connor stated and MJ shook her head with a small smirk playing on her lips, her frizzy hair shaking with her. Mirth was present in her eyes as she looked over to (presumably) Peter and Ned and gave a quick nod to them. The girl flitted her eyes back to Connor and the smirk was still lining her face.

“You’re a strange one, that’s for sure. Must be Peter’s type.” Connor could hear a splutter from Peter behind him and Connor simply tilted his head to the side and furrowed his brows in confusion. He shifted the books in his arms and turned around to see Ned laughing jovially at Peter. The boy with brown hair’s face was very red and he was shushing his friend. MJ snickered. Connor felt like he was missing something, but ignored the feeling and spoke up (unwittingly saving Peter from dying of embarrassment).

“Where is the cafeteria?” Connor asked (even though he had a map of the place in this system, he found he  _ wanted  _ to walk with the other teens to the lunchroom. To talk with them. Plus, asking made him look more human, since he  _ had _ never been to this school before.

“Um, follow me.” Peter eventually said and he quickly left the room, MJ still snickering and Ned still red-faced from laughing, in tow. Connor followed not too far behind, a small feeling of  _ excitement _ filling his thririum-filled veins as he did so.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> peter is embarrassed and mj and ned are going to decimate him during this story for him being a bi-disaster.
> 
> connor doesn't even know what's going on (yet).
> 
> :)


	9. lunch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> mj and ned make fun of peter. nothing new. connor's clueless. also nothing new.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bro y'alls comments are gonna kill me from how happy they make me. thank y'all so much <3333

The lunchroom was… loud, Connor concluded as he sat down with a small tray of food that even  _ Connor _ didn’t want to analyze, for fear he may  _ not _ be able to “eat” whatever was on there. The android was suddenly so relieved that he had downloaded the upgrades to be able to consume foods (and more grossly, _ excrete _ them). He could only handle a little bit at a time though. 

Connor sat down next to Peter, sitting across from MJ and Ned. The girl was reading a book, one called  _ The Hate U Give.  _ MJ’s expression was neutral as she munched on an apple, pretending not to listen to the two boys discussing the series they had been talking about earlier in the day. Something called  _ Star Wars. _ The android felt slightly uncomfortable, feeling as if he was intruding on the other three teens.

Connor picked at the food in front of him. It was  _ visibly _ a hamburger. But  _ physically _ ? He had no clue. 

Peter glanced over at Connor, seeing his dilemma and chuffed a small laugh. This alerted Ned and MJ of the android’s trouble. Ned also laughed and MJ quirked an eyebrow amusedly.

“I promise it’s edible.” Peter assured Connor, placing a hand on the android’s shoulder comfortingly. The other teen’s face then turned a tinge of pink and he quickly released his hand on Connor’s shoulder and shoved his face full of food. MJ and Ned snickered. The android was merely confused. Maybe Peter was just a shy individual? Connor would have to think on this or ask Hank.

“Thank you for the assurance, I truly was uncertain if it  _ was _ edible…” Connor trailed off and took a bite of the hamburger. Notifications about  _ what _ exactly the food was made of flashed up on his hub, but he persisted, ignoring the notifications. 

“See, it’s not that bad, right?” Peter asked, unsure. Connor grimaced, not wanting to say that it wasn’t quite the most  _ pleasant _ taste his receptors have, well,  _ received _ . But, it wasn’t  _ awful _ and it certainly wasn’t what Hank used to eat before the android entered his life and quickly changed his dietary plan.

“‘Think Con doesn’t like it.” MJ pointed out and Ned nodded. Peter sighed, a small smile quirking at the edges of his lips. Connor quickly shook his head and began to stuff his face with the burger (almost inhumanely fast). The three other teen’s eyes widened slightly and a surprised laugh exited Ned’s mouth.

“Uh… I’m not so sure about that MJ?” Ned’s statement sounded more like a question. MJ was just blinking at the display, more confused at the action made by the android.

“Dude, did you even, y’know,  _ breathe  _ while eating that?” Peter questioned and Connor could feel a heat start to take to his cheeks. Thankfully it was only a blush at 13%, as anything above 30% became blue due to the thririum in his veins. He felt embarrassed, which didn’t happen often (unless Hank was the one making fun of him, the older man just  _ knew _ how to make Connor embarrassed. It was a talent).

Connor finally picked up on the words after a second and realized  _ “oh wait, I  _ didn’t  _ breathe while consuming that” _ . The android swallowed the rest of the burger, it slipping down his throat into his (recently made) stomach where it settled uneasily. 

“Y-yes. Of course I breathed while consuming the hamburger.” Connor corrected quickly and he saw MJ quirk an eyebrow at him and the two other boys shared a look with each other before they started to laugh a little bit.

“You’re a strange one, Connor.” MJ shook her head and went back to her book, clearly tuning out of the conversation. Ned shifted in his seat, munching on a bag of  _ SunChips _ , turning his attention back to Peter.

“Peter, how’s your internship with Mr. Stark going?” Ned asked, enunciating the name ‘Stark’ loudly and clearly. A couple of nearby students turned to look at the four teens and rolled their eyes, quickly turning back to their lunches or conversations. Connor quirked his head to the side a little bit, feeling like he was missing something.

“Ned!” Peter shushed him and his brown eyes flicked over to the confused android, his face red. The Filipino boy simply smiled smugly at his best friend. Peter sighed, glancing over at Connor’s confused expression and sighing lightly, his fingers beginning to fiddle with the slightly fraying edge of his sweater.

“Um, well, Connor, I intern for uh, Tony Stark. At Stark Industries.” Peter said quickly and his eyes refused to meet Connor’s. The android did a quick search of the name Tony Stark, feeling as if he knew this name already. He was bombarded by search result upon search result. But Connor processed that Tony Stark was one of the founding Avengers, and a billionaire mechanic who owned a prestigious company.

“That’s very impressive Peter.” Connor nodded and smiled at the other boy. The android assumed that the “internship” was a cover-up for Peter’s… extracurriculars. For Spider-Man. The superhero’s identity hasn’t been publicly revealed, so Connor assumed it to be a secret. Peter perked up a little bit.

“You uh, believe me?” Peter asked self-consciously and Connor tilted his head, confused by the question. Ned raised his eyebrows, and MJ looked up from her book, placing her finger on her place in the text. They seemed to be waiting, which made the android seem slightly on edge. Connor took an (unnecessary) breath and responded.

“Of course I believe you, Peter. You are very bright and I can tell you are a very good and honest person. It’s amazing that you are able to intern for a place as prestigious as Stark Industries.” Connor said carefully, but genuinely. He left out the part about Spider-Man, knowing it would be strange for the android to already  _ know _ about his alter-ego from just two meetings. And from Peter well,  _ not telling him _ .

MJ’s smirked and her eyes flicked back to her reading, shaking her head amusedly. Ned smiled smugly again and Peter looked about ready to burst from how red his face was. Connor wondered if he said  _ too much _ , something he didn’t often worry about, but for some reason he could feel his own face heating up slightly. He was confused but stood his ground and watched his blushing percentage as he waited for Peter to respond.

“U-um thanks, man?” Peter said quietly and with uncertainty. The teenage boy shook his head a few times then corrected himself. “Thanks for, uh, believing me. And, ah, saying that about me. That was cool of you.” Connor nodded and smiled at the other boy. MJ’s snickers were heard in the background and Peter turned to glare at the girl who was pretending she was reading again. Ned whispered something to MJ that both confused and intrigued Connor.

“That boy’s already got Peter  _ whipped _ .” MJ nodded seriously. The boy in question obviously heard what Ned had said and made an affronted noise and groaned, shoving red face into his arms.

Connor didn’t quite understand, but he felt heat in his face nonetheless.

Then the bell rang and it was time for sixth period. Connor internally sighed, already feeling the boredom filling his mechanical bones. He hoped that his new friends(?) were in his classes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ned being peter's wingman is the only thing i've ever needed in my life.
> 
> i can't wait to write connor asking hank about why peter's face is perpetually red around him. hank's gonna have a field day with that.


	10. "how was your first day of school?"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> connor tells hank of his first day of school.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you guys for all the comments, kudos, and bookmarks. it really helps me stay inspired to write so quickly <3 have a second update for today!

The rest of the day went along without a hitch, MJ, Ned, and Peter were in most of Connor’s classes. Sadly, the android was introduced to Euguene “Flash” Thomspon. He made a little bit of a ruckus talking bad about Peter and making snide comments to Connor, seemingly trying to dissuade the brown-haired android from talking to Peter. As if the secret superhero was an “orphaned lying nerd”. While the orphaned part is (sadly) true, the secret superhero known as Spider-Man was anything but a liar. At least, not without reason (such as him lying about being Spider-Man, but he probably had his reasons for that).

But, for the most part, the rest of the day went by without so much as a small bump. Connor bid farewell to his newfound friends, telling them all to “be careful!” while he looked at Peter. The android was anything but subtle, and he  _ knew _ this. But he  _ did _ want Spider-Man to be careful, as media outlets often found the neighborhood hero around Manhattan or Queens right after Midtown High let out.

The android shifted his backpack on his shoulders as he stepped onto the busy sidewalks of Queens on his venture home. He weaved through the crowding people, feeling a little homesick as he did so. Back in his world, streets were never  _ quite _ this busy, but the thought was still there. It sat in Connor’s mind like a leech, and the android suddenly felt  _ tired _ even though he had no requirement to sleep. The android simply sighed and crossed the street, trying to push the unwanted thoughts away. He didn’t have time to mope; he had to find out a way to get Hank, Sumo, and himself home.

If he could, that was.

At that sobering thought, Connor stepped into the elevator of the apartment building he lived in. Hank wouldn’t be back for at least another hour, Connor thought to himself as he turned around and locked the door and stepped into the living room. Sumo’s new dog tags could be heard jingling as he plotted his way over to the android. 

Connor smiled and pat Sumo on his big head, feeling content in that moment. He looked around the apartment and back at his bag full of homework that would take him only a few minutes, decided he could do it later, and went to the small kitchen and opened a drawer to reveal Sumo’s dog leash. 

“Would you enjoy a walk Sumo?” Connor asked the dog and Sumo  _ boofed _ happily and wagged his tail at the sight of the leash. The android’s eyes crinkled happily and he attached the leash to Sumo’s collar. After making sure it was secure, the android unlocked the door and ushered the St. Bernard through the walkway, locked the door to their apartment, and started on the duo’s way.

After walking Sumo for a little over a half an hour, during which nothing of note happened except Sumo excreting himself on the sidewalk, making a small child’s eyes grow wide and point at the pile of what Hank would call “dogshit”. Connor cleaned it up quickly, and disposed of it in a trashcan on some street that already had dog (and human) excrement in it.

Hank was home by the time the two entered the apartment. He was drinking a bottle of water, Connor noted happily, and was watching the news again. He was probably trying to learn of his new surroundings, the android surmised as he released Sumo from his leash. Hank lazily turned his gaze away from the TV to Connor.

“How was your first day of school?” The older man asked, though it sounded like it was a heavy phrase on his tongue. Probably reminded Hank of Cole, and what he would ask him every day (sans the first day part). Hank had told him this while drunk out of his mind one night, the first day of school for most elementary schools that day.

It wasn’t a pleasant memory for both of the people involved.

“It was okay. It was pretty boring, however.” Connor finally said and Hank grunted, a small smile forming on his face. “I did meet Spider-Man again, though.” The older man quirked a gray eyebrow at this.

“Really? Didja get in trouble on your way back or something?” Hank asked evenly, but there was an undercurrent of stress in his words. Connor felt warm at the worry the older man showed for him, and he shook his head, trying to quelch the fear the older man was feeling. He responded with mirth.

“No, I met Peter Parker, a friend in my class.” Hank spat out the water in his mouth, it spraying over the couch and small coffee table. Connor wasn’t expecting the reaction and rushed to the kitchen to get paper towels from the paper towel rack. He helped the white-haired man clean up his mess.

“Damn, that’s uh, a little fucking  _ young _ to be a superhero, dontcha think?” Hank mumbled. He got up and threw away the dirty paper towels. Connor could kind of see the problem with Peter being so young and being a superhero, but the android was  _ technically _ only about six months old. Though, he  _ was _ built for danger, one could say.

“Anyways,” Hank said after he sat down, “you said he was a friend? You’ve already got friends?” The older man questioned and Connor tilted his head to the side a little bit.

“Yes, I have made three friends. Peter, MJ, and Ned. Though Peter seems a little strange around me…” Connor trailed off and Hank gave a questioning look towards the android, obviously wanting more than “a little strange around me”.

“Well, he often flushes when I compliment him or look at him. He stutters 26% more than usual when talking with me, though I only have a small amount of data to go off of so-” Connor was cut off by Hank’s bark of a laugh. Sumo perked up from the chair nearby, just as confused as the android about why Hank was laughing.

“Why are you laughing, Hank?” Connor questioned, feeling out of the loop for the umpteenth time that day. Hank simply waved a hand at Connor, waving away the question the android had asked. 

“No reason, son,” Hank was full-on grinning now, amusement present in every wrinkle of his face. “No reason at all.” The older man fixed his gaze onto the TV.

Connor narrowed his eyes and just quietly turned to watch the TV as well. Hank then asked how the rest of the android’s day went, and Connor complied after a few moments. Hank seemed happy to hear about Connor’s day, a slightly nostalgic look on his face as the android went on about his first day at school.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we'll hear from peter next chapter, and some dad! tony. can't wait for it!


	11. coming out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> peter tells tony about his day at school.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> y'all keeping up with this fic is just. so good. thank you guys so much <3
> 
> have some peter pov. as a treat.

Swinging to the Stark Tower, Peter soaked in the unusually warm September air. He felt light and airy as he did so, bubbling with excitement at making a new friend in Connor. He wasn’t sure at first about the other boy. It turned out that he was really smart and funny, but not in a traditional way. Even despite his… weirdly stiff way of speaking, Connor was pretty cool. 

_ Emphasis on pretty _ , he mind unhelpfully supplied. Peter’s face flushed red underneath the mask, Karen immediately picking up on it. 

“You seem flustered Peter. What are you thinking about?” Karen’s kind voice almost sounded teasing (or Peter was just hearing things). The swinging hero just huffed a laugh, trying to will his face to stop being so freakin’  _ hot _ . 

“I-it’s nothing Karen. Just a little hot out today.” Peter replied, hoping with  _ all _ his heart that the AI would drop it. Thankfully she did and just turned on the suit’s AC. The cool feeling felt nice on Peter’s skin. 

The rest of the way to the Stark Tower went smoothly, nothing but a small-time mugging that made Peter stop for a second and intervene. It was just some teen about Peter’s age mugging an older woman for drug money. The hero always felt bad for the other teens his age who were turning to drugs. He always wondered, in the darker moments of the night, if  _ he _ would’ve turned to drugs if it wasn’t for May and being Spider-Man after Uncle Ben died. If he would’ve been so wracked with grief he felt like it was the only way out.

Needless to say, Peter felt for these teens, but that didn’t give them an excuse to mug poor old ladies in the middle of the day. After returning the woman’s purse and calling the police, leaving a note on the webbed up teenager, and bidding farewell to the woman, he  _ thwipped _ away.

Peter ended up at the tower only about a half an hour later. He climbed through his window, slipping in and closing it easily. He took off his mask, carding his hand through his brown locks, as if doing that would relieve the messy mask-hair he had. He slumped down onto his bed, but not before shrugging off his homework-filled book bag. Peter absently wondered as he stared at the ceiling if MJ or Ned were up for calling, but then dismissed the idea. He  _ had _ just seen them about an hour ago, and they also had homework. 

Peter then caught himself thinking if Connor would want to call, but even faster than thinking  _ that _ he waved away the thought as quickly as he could. Besides, he didn’t even have Connor’s phone number. It was just wishful thinking. Peter sighed, heaving himself up off the bed and changing into his regular clothes, stuffing the Spider-Man suit into his book bag (like he always did).

The teenage boy made his way towards the big kitchen that was on Mr. Stark’s (and his, Peter assumed) floor in the tower. Peter was a little surprised to see Mr. Stark standing in the kitchen, nursing what looked like a coffee. The mechanic was slurping his coffee and scrolling through some app on his phone. From what the boy could see, it looked like the stocks of the company.

“H-hey Mr. Stark.” Peter greeted quietly, immediately scolding himself internally for the slight stutter. The man in question looked up from his Stark Phone, clicking the power button and the screen went dark. The billionaire smiled warmly at Peter, a bright grin overtaking his features.

“Hey, Pete. How was school?” Mr. Stark asked as he sipped his hot mug of what smelled like pure-black coffee. Must’ve been a late night, Peter surmised before he looked into the brown eyes of his (hopefully) temporary guardian.

“It was okay.” Peter said simply and went to the cupboard to grab a microwavable macaroni cup. The man gave an over-dramatic sigh at the less-than-sufficient answer. The mechanic raised an eyebrow at the teenage boy.

“C’mon, Spider-Kid, you’ve got to give me more than  _ that _ .” Mr. Stark drawled and Peter rolled his eyes, turning off the hot tap water and placing the macaroni cup in the microwave, shut it, and put it in for three and a half minutes. Because when the cup says 3-4 minutes, it really means three and a half minutes. At least it does for those who are  _ chefs _ .

“I-I guess I made a new friend today?” Peter blushed slightly at just the mention of his “new friend” (more like “new  _ crush _ ” but whatever). Mr. Stark obviously  _ didn’t _ miss this and he grinned evilly and with mirth lining every crevice and wrinkle of his face. Peter  _ willed _ the microwave to go  _ faster  _ or to be  _ done _ so he could just dump the chemical flavor packet into the hot cup and  _ leave _ . 

Sadly, the microwave didn’t listen.

“So, who’s your new friend, hm? What’s she like?” Mr. Stark winked and Peter could feel all the blood leave his face. He hadn’t told his mentor that he  _ liked _ boys. And Connor was certainly. A boy.

God, what a mess.

“Uhm, nice. Very, very nice. Uh, smart, too.” Peter said quietly and his face went back to its pink flushed look. Mr. Stark smirked and took a loud sip of his coffee, quirking his eyebrow up. Peter saw the timer on the microwave.  _ 1:27 _ . God, it wouldn’t be enough  _ time _ .

“So, she’s nice, smart, c’mon tell me about her  _ looks _ , Pete.” Tony exaggerated the word ‘looks’ and when the flash of Connor’s freckled face and his mole near his eyes that crinkled with his deep brown eyes Peter just-

“Um. H-he’s v-very hand-handsome.” Peter trailed off, becoming quieter and quieter as he said so. His eyes were trained to the microwave, not wanting to look at the other man in the room at the moment, for fear of his reaction.  _ 1:15, 1:14, 1:13- _

“So, what’s his name? What’s he look like?” Mr. Stark asked without skipping a beat. Peter’s shoulders untensed and he risked a glance towards his mentor. The man was looking at him expectantly, but not in disgust or anything like that. Like they were just talking about the weather and Mr. Stark was waiting for Peter’s opinion on it that day.

“His name’s Con-Connor. He’s very, um, cute? Like, uh, he has brown hair and eyes and they’re really really pretty and-” Peter cut himself off when he realized he was about to start rambling. The mechanic was simply smiling and went over to ruffle the teenage boy’s hair with a warm hand. Peter kind of felt like crying, but he held it in and just smiled awkwardly back. A silent thank-you to the mentor who was (and had been) becoming a lot more than just a mentor to Peter.

“Tell me about him.” Mr. Stark asked Peter as he reached for one of the kitchen bar stools and he patted the one next to him. Peter felt light as he stepped and sat next to the man who was becoming a lot more like a father-figure than anything else.

Not that Peter would tell him  _ that _ .

(Yet).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tell me what you thought of this!


	12. oh.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> eugene is a jerk, peter is crying, connor's thought process goes from every word in the english language to one single word in a matter of seconds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> have fun.

Connor’s second week at school was just as pleasant as the first. The android had been getting progressively closer with the trio of teens he had met on the first day. Ned liked telling Connor about “all the masterpieces he’d missed, seriously did you live under a  _ rock _ ?” and bonded with MJ over social issues. How to make a revolution, how to lead one, and how to end one. She really enjoyed hearing Connor’s opinions on his views on society as a whole. 

Peter and Connor probably grew the closest. After receiving the android’s phone number (something Connor personally thought of as a waste of money since he was, in essence, a living, “breathing”, phone. But Hank insisted), the other teen had been texting Connor almost constantly. They talked about a lot of things, but Peter seemed to be really interested in superheroes (that weren’t Spider-Man. Connor didn’t ask, out of courtesy). The android had learned much about the hero politics; the civil war between the avengers, the Sokovia Accords, and a  _ lot _ about Tony Stark, aka Ironman. Connor had also learned much about Peter’s family, about his Aunt May, and in a more somber tone, about his Uncle Ben.

In turn, Connor shared what he could. He shared his likes and dislikes. His likes included his new friends (especially Peter. He made Connor feel…  _ something _ that his processors had never, well,  _ processed _ before), dogs, and his “dad”, Hank. His dislikes included school food, “sleeping”, and Eugene Thompson. Though, to be fair, Connor  _ did _ try to withhold his…  _ dislike _ of the other teen. 

Eugene reminded the android of Detective Gavin Reed before he started to change after the android revolution. He saw himself as too self-important. He was too cocky and blatantly jealous of Peter and his brains and his good friends. He was trying to make fun of Peter and have others join in with the act by making it a public affair.

One day, Connor was sitting across from MJ and Ned, both of whom packed their lunches that day. Connor had quickly gotten in line, so he got out of said line just as fast. The trio talked about nothing of importance as they waited for their fourth party member to make his way to the table.

Connor idly saw the other teen that had made fun of Peter a couple of times, Eugene Thompson, walk by carrying a tray of his own. He sat down at one of the so-called “popular-kids’” tables. Connor thought the title was silly, but he never had made any comment about it before, and didn’t really ever see a reason to make one  _ now _ .

Peter entered Connor’s field of vision and he greeted the boy with a grin. Peter simply slumped as he sat down and shoved his face into his arms, upset. Ned and MJ looked at each other and then at Connor, who wasn’t quite prepared for something as… emotionally driven as comforting. Hank told him his methods were either spot-on, or godawful. MJ seemed to pick up on this fact and spoke up.

“Hey, nerd. What’s got you all, uh…” The teenage girl made a vague hand gesture at the display Peter was making.

“Mopey? Down in the dumps? Severely depressed?” Ned offered and MJ glared at the Fillipino boy and lightly  _ whacked _ his arm. Ned rubbed his arm and glared at her before she made a significant head nod towards their slumped over friend. 

“Peter,” Connor interrupted Ned (accidentally) as he was going to apologize, and the android placed a hand on Peter’s shoulder, making the other teen peek up slightly at the android. His brown eyes were red-rimmed and slightly puffy and swollen from obvious crying. 

“What’s wrong?” Connor asked softly and Peter just flicked eyes over to Eugene for a second before he just shrugged and stayed face down. But that second meant everything to Connor. 

The android suddenly stood up, surprising the three other occupants of said table. Connor turned his attention towards Eugene, and let his processors come up with a plan for action that caused the least amount of trouble directed towards Peter.

At least that  _ was _ before Peter grabbed Connor’s wrist. 

“It’s okay, Connor. I’m f-fine, man. Drop it.” Connor wanted to do anything but “drop it”. But he let out a little sigh and tried to calm down, if it was beneficial to Peter. The android saw Ned release a stressed breath, shoulders untensing; MJ merely had an eyebrow raised. He would deal with Eugene later, then. Connor sat down after a moment, the warmth of Peter’s hand seeping through his synthetic skin. Connor felt grounded by the contact. Though it was under unsavory circumstances, Connor felt like he  _ craved _ the contact Peter was giving him.

Peter, suddenly realizing Connor was staring at the hand still on his wrist, flushed a bright red and pulled away. The android had a sudden realization that had him  _ reeling _ , everything feeling as if it was clicking into place. Hank’s laughing and teasing, MJ and Ned’s significant looks, Peter’s flushing and sudden shyness around him. Connor’s wrist felt  _ warm _ as he realized this, only a single word fluttering through his brain, all of the previous events forgotten at that moment, its place taken by that single word of realization.

_ Oh. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ;)


	13. homecoming part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> homecoming's around the corner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'ALL YOUR COMMENTS ARE KEEPING ME GOING THANK YOUUUU!!! I LOVE Y'ALL SO MUCH!!!

Peter Parker was  _ not _ the subtlest person in the world. He was  _ not.  _ It’s just a fact of life. Like how the sky was blue, grass was green, Peter Parker couldn’t be subtle if his life depended on it. For another fact,  _ neither could Ned Leeds _ . 

A couple of weeks after the Wrist Incident™, homecoming was around the corner. In a week, a bunch of awkward teens would go to an awkward dance and listen to awkward music while they either danced awkwardly (badly) or stood around the sides of the gym awkwardly. 

Of course Peter wanted to ask Connor to homecoming. Even after the…  _ eventful _ homecoming that happened last year (and the subsequent nightmares it caused for Peter), the boy wanted to ask Connor to the dance. He wanted to  _ dance _ with Connor, feel his warm hands around his, one hand on his hip as he led them through the slightly stilted dancing that was expected of two teenagers. He wanted to look into Connor’s deep, perfect brown eyes as he leaned in…- 

_ Too far _ , Peter stopped his brain from continuing the thought, too embarrassed of it to actually finish it. His face was already becoming a steady red color, something that had been happening  _ a lot _ as of late thanks to a certain teenage boy.

Mr. Stark found  _ endless _ enjoyment ribbing Peter about his puppy-crush. He also pestered the teenager a multitude of times to finally bring Connor over. There wasn’t an inherent problem with doing that, per se, other than the fact that  _ Peter had never told Connor he  _ lived _ with  _ Tony Stark _ and  _ not  _ his Aunt May _ . Peter didn’t tell Mr. Stark of this, and he didn’t tell Connor of this either (obviously). 

Also, Connor was  _ freakishly _ smart. If anyone could figure out that his internship was a lie and he was Spider-Man, it was Connor. 

Sometimes, when Peter thought about it, Connor was sometimes  _ too _ smart. Not that it was a bad thing! Just that, for however clueless he seems on something one second then knows everything about it the next was just… strange. Like the time when Peter (as Spider-Man) led Connor, his dog, and his adoptive father to their apartment and he looked confused when he said he was Spider-Man, but then listed off facts about the hero without skipping a beat when Mr. Anderson asked about it. It was something Peter had been planning to look into, but the boy had always just put it off, thinking that maybe Connor just has some problems with remembering things and they come to him a little later than usual. Also, looking confused to see a wall-crawling hero drop in front of you isn’t  _ that _ unusual. Maybe Peter was looking too far into it. 

(Peter tried to not remember the fact that, sometimes, when Connor blushed, his skin seemed to tinge with  _ blue _ . But it could always be because of the fluorescent lights and Connor’s love for blue sweaters.)

(Right?)

In any case, Peter decided, blue skin or not, it wasn’t going to save him from the self-appointed wingman that was his best friend, Ned Leeds. The Filipino boy was currently asking Connor about his plans for homecoming. Connor seemed a little flustered, but his face remained its usual neutral expression for the most part.

“I was not planning on attending, are you?” Connor replied politely, his eyes flicking away from Ned’s own brown ones. Peter had noticed the other teen’s adversity towards eye contact. It wasn’t a  _ problem _ , per se, just another thing made Connor… Connor. Peter found it kind of endearing, really.

“Yeah! MJ, Peter, and I are all going. You should join us!” Ned invited excitedly. Peter felt slightly scared and nervous for the answer, feeling like he was on the edge of his seat or standing over a large chasm, his stomach swooping.

“I would love to join you all.” Connor smiled briefly and nodded his head, his eyes flicking to meet Peter’s. Both boys flushed at the eye contact. MJ was shaking her head in mirth, eyes twinkling at the sight of the two bashful boys. Peter sent a glare her way, which was about as intimidating as a puppy’s glare, so she just smirked in response. Suddenly Ned,  _ ever the obvious _ , spoke.

“Peter would probably like it if you rode with him. Meet up with him and hang out with him before the dance, y’know?” The Filipino boy then  _ winked _ at Peter. To the action Peter simply facepalmed, face redder than a tomato.

“I wouldn’t want to impose-” Connor started, seeing the facepalm Peter had done and assuming the worst. Peter wouldn’t stand for  _ that _ .

“No! Uh,” Peter burst out and Connor looked surprised at the outburst. Peter’s cheeks felt hot in embarrassment and he scratched the back of his head as he finished what he was going to say.

“Um, I-I’d really like it if you, ah, hung out with me. Before the dance. And during the dance, too. Um…” Peter trailed off, feeling awkward as he stuttered out each word, nervous for no apparent reason other than he was probably making an _absolute_ _fool_ of himself in front of his crush.

Peter  _ was _ the  _ definition  _ of a disaster-bi, huh?

“I’d love to.” Connor’s response didn’t process for a second and Peter simply stared dumbly at the other boy before the words caught up with him. A warm feeling in Peter’s chest bloomed and he was (a little) surprised to see Connor looking Peter directly in the eyes, his own eyes soft and crinkled as he smiled warmly at the other boy.

Could Peter pass out from this?  _ Would _ Peter pass out from this? Who knew, who knew.

“Great! Uh yeah, that’s, um, great!” Peter grinned brightly and he saw MJ and Ned share a quiet high-five. Connor beamed, and Peter  _ knew _ he was in too deep in that moment. Then he had a sudden realization.

_ How does he explain to his crush that he lives with Tony Stark, without telling him he’s pretty much lied to him this entire time about living with my aunt? Without Connor realizing he’s Spider-Man? _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bi-disaster! peter parker is my kink.


	14. homecoming part 1.5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> just a short chapter with our boy connor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> look forward to a longer update later!!

Connor stood awkwardly behind Hank, nervous for some reason unbeknownst to him. He was waiting to ask the older man about getting him a  _ proper _ suit and tie for the homecoming and not his Cyberlife-issued suit that he was made with. Hank was currently nursing a cup of hot coffee as he read some sort of novel. Connor was too preoccupied to scan and see exactly what book the older man was reading. 

The android brought out his coin from his pocket, which was taking its home in the android’s pocket and backpack regularly now. He began to start doing his coin tricks, the cool metal against his synthetic skin giving Connor a soothing feeling. Hank must’ve heard the coins clicking against the android’s nails as he looked up from his book to lock gazes with Connor.

“Whaddya want?” Hank asked, not unkindly. Connor stopped his coin tricks and his eyes flicked away from Hank’s, feeling uncomfortable with the older man’s sharp gaze. The android didn’t know why he felt so  _ nervous _ asking for a suit for homecoming, but he  _ was _ . Connor just… didn’t like feeling as if he was burdening the lieutenant. He rarely asked for anything, as he was simply an android; he didn’t  _ need _ anything, really.

“Are you just gonna stand there and collect dust?” Hank joked gruffly. Connor broke from his thought process, and sat down next to the white-haired man. Hank scooted over, groaning a bit about how he “was in the same damn spot for too long”. Hank looked at the android expectantly, waiting for an answer, and eventually Connor answered.

“I require a suit for homecoming.” Hank raised a gray eyebrow, but nodded. Connor quickly went on. “I apologize for asking for this; I just presumed that my Cyberlife-issued suit would be unqualified for the occasion.” The android went on and, to Connor’s surprise, the older man just laughed heartily.

“You  _ do _ know that it’s okay to ask for things, right? Son, you don’t have to eat, it’s not like you eat me out of house and home.” A twinkle entered Hank’s blue eyes. “Also, you can just hack or do whatever the hell it is that you do and get money from an ATM.” The older man said and Connor blinked.

“That’s illegal-”

“You bought us an apartment, made up fake identities, got me a job,  _ and _ you put money into our bank account.” Hank reminded him and Connor felt his hackles raise defensively.

“Those were necessities, I would never-” Hank cut off Connor with a wave of his hand.

“I know, son. I’m just messing with you.” The older man smiled, a gruff thing with mirth filled in every crevice of his face. “We can get you a suit in a little bit. Lemme just finish my coffee and we’ll go.” Hank said with a smile and Connor felt the vice that was gripping his thirium pump loosen.

“So, what’s Peter’s favorite color? We’ll get a tie in that color.” Hank winked and Connor flushed so hard his cheeks turned blue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> stupid gayndroid. >:)


	15. homecoming part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> peter's nervous and dad! tony does his best to calm him down before his (totally not) date shows up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i may update three times today, who knows who knows ;)

Homecoming was that night and Peter was nervously pacing around his room. He was fretting over every little thing in said room, picking up a stray book and moving it to its rightful place on his (slightly) impressively filled bookshelf. His brown eyes strayed towards a science journal by Mr. Stark himself. He was  _ not _ ready for Connor to see his father-figure-billionaire. He wasn’t even really ready for Connor to  _ know _ that Peter had lied to him about his aunt and where he lived. He also wasn’t looking forward to explaining  _ why _ he lived with Mr. Stark despite not being related to the billionaire.

Fun, fun times for your local Spider-Man.

“Pete- what are you doing?” Mr. Stark peeked his head into the teenager’s room. Said teenager sighed, and he flopped onto the bed that probably cost more than this birth, splaying out like a starfish onto the expensive cotton sheets. The mechanic smirked at the sight and he fully walked into the room and made his way over to the sulking and panicking teen.

“Nervous?” Mr. Stark asked as the bed creaked underneath the added weight of the man sitting down. Peter nodded silently and the two stared at the wall in silence for a second. 

“Well, kiddo, Connor sounds like a nice kid. Why are you so scared?” The mechanic asked, and Peter blinked at the question and he sat up, a confused expression on his face. 

“What do you mean?” Peter questioned, and Mr. Stark simply shook his head, looking at the teen with a gentle gaze.

“Well, from what you’ve said, this Connor sounds like a good kid. From your eyes, as far as I can tell, you see this kid in some sort of spotlight. A pedestal of ‘coolness’ and ‘perfection’, so to say.” Mr. Stark went on to explain and Peter found himself nodding along.

“So, what are you afraid of?” Mr. Stark asked, his voice unusually gentle, no humor laced into the words like they usually would be. Peter thought for a moment, putting his feelings into words in his head before he spoke to the man.

“W-well, it’s, like, I didn’t tell him about you? Or, well, I  _ did _ tell him about you. Interning for you. But, like, I-I didn’t tell him about living with you? I’m not embarrassed to be living with you!” Peter hurriedly explained, his hands waving away the thought as he spoke. “It’s just that, well, I wanted to be… Peter Parker for him? Like, not Peter Parker, the kid who lives with Mr. Stark. I-I don’t think he’d really care that I live with you and stuff, it’s just…” Peter rambled then trailed off. Mr. Stark was looking into Peter’s eyes, obviously thinking of something to say. Eventually, Peter’s mentor spoke.

“Well, kid. If you want a relationship with this kid, you’re going to want to be upfront with him. Like you said, he probably won’t care- especially if everything you’ve said about the kid is true.” Mr. Stark said soothingly and matter-of-factly. Peter nodded, playing with a loose thread from his Midtown High hoodie. 

“Even if he  _ is _ mad, and that’s a big  _ if _ , about you lying to him about living with your aunt, he’ll forgive you. He’ll try to empathize, and if he doesn’t?” Mr. Stark paused for dramatic effect. “I, for one, have a  _ bunch _ of new nanotech suits I’d  _ love _ to try out.” Mr. Stark grinned wickedly and Peter huffed out a laugh. The mechanic’s expression suddenly turned serious once again.

“But seriously, Pete. If he’s not going to forgive you, he’s probably not going to be a good person to associate with.” Mr. Stark said simply, and while Peter  _ knew  _ that logically, it hurt to think that Connor might not… forgive him.

“And about Spider-Man?” Peter asked quietly, and his mentor hummed in thought, looking back towards the wall before facing the teenager again.

“That’s your decision Pete. If you want to tell him, you can. It’s your secret. Also, Connor would have to understand the risks of having him know. Or should understand.” Mr. Stark said and Peter nodded, finally pulling the loose thread out of his hoodie. Friday suddenly spoke up.

“Boss, Mr. Parker, Mr. Anderson is waiting at the ground floor.” Friday’s voice felt like it was booming in Peter’s ears. The teenager shot up and Mr. Stark grinned at the kid, clapping him on the shoulder as he stood up and walked out of the room.

“Go get ‘em, tiger.” Mr. Stark winked and Peter flushed before he began to speed down the hallway and to the elevator, nerves filling his body, even after the talk with his mentor.

***

A few moments later, the elevator opened up, revealing Connor sitting politely in one of the waiting area’s seats. Connor didn’t look surprised to be at Stark Tower, which wasn’t surprising as Peter told him the address over the text that day, then muted his conversation with Connor out of nervousness. The other teenage boy was sitting with a black bookbag, one presumably filled with Connor’s formal attire for homecoming.

Connor seemingly noticed Peter coming, as his deep brown eyes met Peter’s own. The crinkle of the other teen’s eyes, and the smile he produced made Peter’s heart thump  _ fast _ . Connor didn’t look  _ mad _ at  _ all _ , which was… cool. Cool, cool, cool, Peter said on repeat as he approached the teen. 

“Hello, Peter.” Connor’s smile was breathtaking. Did Peter ever say that before? Because  _ Jesus _ , that smile could cure cancer. Peter returned a sheepish smile in response.

“Hey, Connor. S-sorry for, um, the surprise location?” Peter flinched at his own statement which came out more as a question than anything else. The other teen didn’t seem to notice the flinch and tilted his head, as he often did when he found something curious. They made their way towards the elevator and the doors closed as Connor spoke.

“I admit, I was slightly confused.” Connor admitted and Peter flinched again before the teen continued. “But I assumed there was a reason we were meeting here, and you weren’t responding to my queries, so I simply waited till I came here so that I could hear you explain the situation.” The teen explained, like he was talking about the weather and not why he was meeting Peter Parker at his place of internship so that they could get ready for homecoming. 

“Um, I kind of live here?” Peter said and Connor simply nodded and hummed in affirmation, like that was a good enough explanation. Peter was confused, but continued his explanation anyways as the elevator clicked up floors.

“My aunt, uh, kicked me out near this time last year. Mr. Stark took me in, since I was an intern and he didn’t want me to, like, go homeless or go into the system. Said he had plenty of space at the tower for me.” Peter said, staring intently at the silver doors of the elevator. Connor coughed, something he didn’t do often, and Peter’s brown eyes flicked towards the other teen.

“I’m sorry to hear that Peter.” Connor said honestly and the teenager looked at the other with thinly veiled surprise. “That must have been quite the endeavor. I’m glad someone that you can trust took you in.” The teen said, then put his hand on Peter’s shoulder. It felt warm.

“Uh, thanks, Connor.” Peter smiled, relief coating his features like caramel on an ice-cream scoop. 

The two entered the living room of Mr. Stark’s floor, and Connor suddenly went stiff before he relaxed again. Peter wrote it off as him just getting used to seeing such expensive stuff (like he had been in the beginning).

Connor just smiled and asked Peter to lead the way. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :0


	16. homecoming part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> connor meets tony, peter is Embarrassed, and the two boys begin to watch a movie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> three updates and i still feel like writing, haha. but i don't wanna burn myself out, so i'll hold off lol.
> 
> hope you like it!

When Connor first entered the apartment, or floor, of Tony Stark, he felt some sort of intruder try to enter his systems. It felt like another android, which made Connor pause for a second. It wasn’t possible, another android. They didn’t exist in this world, much less being able to interface or hack from a distance. The android searched his scanners for any signs and found an exceptionally advanced AI, dubbed ‘Friday’ trying to probe his systems. Connor shut down the probing with ease, as he  _ was _ Cyberlife’s (second) most advanced android, just behind the RK900, or ‘Nines’. 

Anyways, Connor severed the connection that Friday was trying to set up. 

Peter seemed to notice Connor’s pause, but the android simply smiled at the other teen, not wanting to worry (or reveal himself to) Peter. The other teen nodded his head and carried on, showing the way through the quite spacious living room. 

The couches were a high-quality black leather and the coffee table was a scratchless glass. The scene felt similar to when Connor went to Elijah Kamski’s abode, but this apartment felt more… lived in than Kamski’s. There were a couple of coffee cups lying about, an open book, and Peter’s English homework sitting unfinished on the glass coffee table. Where Kamski’s house was immaculate, Tony Stark’s home was exactly that- a home.

Speaking of Tony Stark, the man himself showed up as Peter was opening the door to the room marked with a silly, childish-looking Ironman plate titled: Peter’s Room. The man almost snuck up on Connor, but his sensors allowed him to hear the man coming from behind. Peter’s hairs seemed to stand up on end and he quickly turned around, as did Connor, surprising the billionaire. 

“Heh, thought it would work this time.” Tony Stark said, placing a hand on his hip and laughing a bit. The man looked a lot more relaxed up close, less guarded and more open. His expression was that of fondness when his deep brown eyes turned to Peter. Connor may not be very emotionally adept, but he could tell already that the man cared deeply for the teenager with just the overwhelming  _ fondness _ that crept into every wrinkle of the man’s face. 

“Mr. Stark-” Peter drawled out the man’s last name. Stark grinned wickedly at the teen and then his eyes moved to Connor. The mechanic’s eyes were calculating, as if he was searching for something in Connor. The android’s eyes flicked away hurriedly from the inventor’s, feeling a slight discomfort. His fingers itched for his coin, but he held back, not wanting to seem rude. Connor’s fingers instead tapped against his thigh. Stark seemed to be satisfied after a moment and he smiled brightly at Connor.

“Hey! Nice to meet you, kid.” Stark held out a hand for Connor to shake, and the android took it quickly, applying just enough pressure to give it a strong, firm handshake. The mechanic smiled at Connor and the android gave an awkward smile back.

“Hello, Mr. Stark. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” Connor greeted politely and Stark’s eyebrows raised a bit, no doubt because of the diction the android had chosen. Hank had told the android on many occasions that  _ “no one talks like that, tin can” _ . 

“Uhm.” Peter interrupted and looked at Stark with an expression that just said  _ “please don’t embarrass me” _ . The older hero just grinned at his kid, eyes showing the mirth that Hank often did when Connor brought up Peter to him.

“Peter’s told me  _ so much _ about you.” Stark gave another wicked grin and Connor tilted his head, slightly confused. Peter seemed embarrassed.

“Oh? I must admit, I have talked with Hank on a multitude of occasions about Peter as well.” Peter made a choked noise in the back of his throat and when Connor turned to look, Peter was bright red, face looking as if it was on fire. Connor was deeply confused; was it not normal to talk about your friends (read: crushes) to your parents? Was Connor messing up another social situation?

“Oh, have you now?” Stark leered, and Peter seemed to just… implode. He grabbed Connor’s wrist and tugged him along with a strength that was strong enough it would hurt if he wasn’t an android and built like a  _ “living refrigerator” _ according to Hank. It also would’ve been a surprising amount of strength if Connor hadn’t already known that Peter was Spider-Man.

The hand around his wrist felt like it was searing into Connor’s skin. It felt so warm. It felt perfect in Connor’s opinion. 

“We’re going to hang out in my room, seeyoulaterbye!” Peter practically threw Connor into his room and slammed the door on Stark. Connor could hear the billionaire’s laughter through the door, loud and unrepentant. When Connor righted himself, he turned to see Peter’s face still flushed red and with an annoyed look on his face, no doubt because of his guardian’s ribbing.

“Are you alright, Peter?” Connor asked delicately and Peter suddenly seemed to remember he wasn’t alone in his room and he nodded.

“Uh, yeah. I’m fine. Just- just Mr. Stark annoys me sometimes y’know?” Peter’s eyes flicked to the floor, as if he was ashamed he even thought that. Connor shook his head, gaining Peter’s attention again.

“It’s not uncommon for parents to ‘make-fun-of’ their children. Hank often does the same to me.” Connor smiled at the fond memories his processors provided for him at the thought of Hank. Peter made  _ another _ noise in the back of his throat and the android turned to look at the other teenager.

“Mr-Mr. Stark isn’t my  _ parent- _ ” Peter cut himself off, face a cherry red. He looked embarrassed and as if he was thinking about something. Connor could guess as to what it was, but stayed quiet.

“I’m sorry to assume, I must have been mistaken.” Connor apologized. Peter shook his head, waving away the apology with a careless hand.

“It’s fine. Um, h-have you seen Star Wars? Ned had mentioned you haven’t.” Peter asked, switching topics quickly. Connor shook his head.

“I have never seen Star Wars, do you like it?” Connor questioned, already knowing the answer, but wanting to allow Peter to talk about it for a bit.

“Yeah! It’s, like, my  _ favorite _ movie series of all time!” Peter said excitedly, hopping on the balls of his feet a little bit. If he were a dog, thought Connor, his tail would be wagging much like Sumo’s does when Hank plays with him. The android found it endlessly endearing.

“Do you, uh, wanna watch it?” Peter asked with barely concealed excitement dripping into his voice.

“I’d love to.” Connor smiled and the beaming grin that Peter sent his way made the android think his thirium pump was malfunctioning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I Haven't Watched Star Wars and At This Point I'm Too Afraid To.


	17. homecoming part 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> connor helps tie peter's tie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is a Honker (at least for me haha). almost 1,500 words!! i hope you enjoy!!
> 
> on another note, i hope y'all know i've been reading every comment. i'm going to respond to them eventually, but i just have to work up the courage to ;u;. all of the comments make me happy stim!!! y'all are angels and are so nice to me. i'm so glad i have such nice readers. thank you guys for making those comments, they make my entire week each time i read them and they inspire me to write more of this story. thank you guys so much.
> 
> <333

Connor had never felt so warm. 

The android was curled up tight in a soft blanket, shoulder-to-shoulder knee-to-knee with Peter, the other teen’s warmth seeping through Connor’s jeans, warming his entire body. Peter’s dark brown eyes were filled with excitement and wonder as he watched the movie series he oh-so-adored. Glimmering in his eyes was the reflection of the movie in them, encapsulating the film Peter loved and had seen approximately a million times. 

Like Connor had said: he had never felt so  _ warm _ . He felt like he was being enveloped by the presence of Peter. It was overwhelming, just a bit. But not in a  _ bad _ way, just… overwhelming. Never had Connor felt such a strong attraction to someone. Hank was family, he didn’t count. MJ and Ned were his friends, just friends, so they also don’t count. Peter was just… different. It was strange, Connor mused as he turned his attention away from the boy occupying his every thought, and turned it towards the TV where on the screen some sort of space fight was going on.

“Hey kids, you’ve got an hour before Happy’ll take you guys to the dance.” Stark’s voice surprised Connor, and it apparently  _ also _ shocked Peter, as the teenager jumped, suddenly pressing up against the android, blanket falling away slightly. Connor could  _ feel _ his cheeks tint  _ blue _ . Thankfully, it was dark in Peter’s room, the shades drawn and lights turned all the way off, the only light being (thankfully) a bluish-tinted TV screen.

Peter suddenly jumped away from Connor, and the android’s heat signature scanner saw that Peter’s body temperature was raised, especially near his face. Ah, he was blushing, Connor concluded with a slight smile lining his lips. Stark also seemed to notice this action as his expression was that of a smug and mirth-filled one. 

“O-okay, Mr. Stark. We’ll, um, get ready.” Peter responded, voice trailing off slightly in embarrassment. Connor was loathe to feel the heat seeping away from his body as the other teen quickly got up, blanket falling around the android. He felt cold, even with the blanket, without Peter next to him. How unpleasant.

Stark left the room, leaving the door cracked just slightly. He seemed incredibly pleased and amused with himself as he did so, if the slight chuckle he did was anything to go by. Peter scooped up the suit lying on his bed. He made his way over to the connected bathroom to his room.

“I’ll just be a few minutes. Then you can get ready?” He said like it was a question, probably asking if Connor was okay with that. The android nodded, standing up and grabbing the discarded backpack that held his own attire for the dance. Peter looked at the movie still playing.

“Friday, please pause the movie.” The disembodied AI listened, the movie pausing on a quite humorous expression of Luke Skywalker mid-blink and yell. Peter smiled at the android and he closed the door to the bathroom with a soft  _ click _ .

While Connor waited, he started to take a look around the quite spacious, but still homey-feeling room. He started by the bookshelf, curious to see what his friend enjoyed reading. He found many Star Wars comics, along with some books that looked well-worn from age. They were Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Percy Jackson, and Harry Potter lining the shelves. They looked like they hadn’t really been read in years, a light coating of dust settling on them. The more recent and used books were science journals, most of them written by Stark or Dr. Banner. Some of them were also written by Nikola Tesla and Albert Einstein and some other equally famous scientists of their time. On the top of the bookshelf were small POP figurines of the Star Wars characters. Leia and Han Solo were next to each other. The CP-30 figurine brought a small smile to the android’s face.

Connor then moved onto the white desk that sat near one of the windows in the room. There were a couple of sketches on paper. They were pretty good, Connor concluded. Markus and Carl Manfred would’ve enjoyed seeing Peter’s art. The other teen’s science and math homework sat finished as well on the desk, pushed slightly to the side. As the android quickly scanned the answers, he found that they were all right and he smiled. Peter was very intelligent, though Connor already knew that.

The door to the bathroom suddenly opened and Connor turned around to see Peter standing there, white button up and black slacks fitting nicely around his well-toned body. Connor flushed at the thought, but he covered it up with a smile at the other boy.

“You look quite good, Peter.” Connor said and Peter grinned brightly at him, cheeks dusted with pink. His friend shifted his weight.

“Bathroom’s free.” Peter said and Connor nodded, grabbing his backpack and making his way towards the on-suite bathroom. 

When the android closed the door, he pulled his shirt over his head, neatly folding it to sit on the counter of the expensive sink. When Connor looked into the mirror, he saw the very faintly glowing blue circle that was engraved into his chest. The android always understood he wasn’t human, he was simply a very well-made and intelligent machine. While he was alive, he wasn’t  _ human _ . He would never  _ be _ human. 

Peter made Connor wish he was human.

With that sobering thought, the android slipped on the new white button-up Hank had bought him, buttoning it up quickly to cover the inhuman circle carved into his chest. He shucked off his pants, folding them, then pulled on his black slacks. He slipped on his nice new black loafers and tied the dark blue tie that reminded Connor of the thirium that ran through his veins instead of blood. It was apparently Peter’s favorite color. Connor preferred a more vibrant blue.

Connor stepped out of the bathroom and closed the door behind him. He saw Peter struggling with his tie, obviously trying to remember how to do the action but failing miserably. The android smiled fondly at the boy who was so smart, yet couldn’t tie his own blue tie right. Connor went over to the struggling teen.

“Could I be of some assistance?” Connor asked and Peter looked up, a sheepish look in his eyes. 

“My aunt and I learned how to do it together last year but, uh, I guess if you don’t use it you lose it.” Peter joked, but a slight look of sadness fell into his eyes at the thought of his aunt. Connor quickly intervened before the thought could get too far.

“Here, let me.” Connor swiftly made his way over to the other teen and grabbed the two parts of the blue tie. Peter’s eyes looked up into Connor’s before the android flicked his eyes away, willing to keep his flushing cheeks below the threshold of when they turn blue. Peter was  _ so close _ , Connor thought, ignoring the many physical prompts his system was pushing at him to do. 

Connor began to wrap the tie and tie it, feeling Peter’s warm breath brushing against the android’s face. Peter looked in wonderment at the android, eyes twinkling and face a tinge of red. Connor’s hands slowed, not wanting to end the moment at all. He took his time tying the tie, drinking in the scent and warmth that Peter gave off. His sensors were going haywire with notifications, but he ignored them. 

**> > Command: Kiss_Peter**

**> >Proceed with action?**

** >> Y/N**

Before Connor could even  _ think  _ about answering the prompt, the disembodied voice of Friday interrupted them. 

“Mr. Hogan is waiting outside for your presence, Mr. Parker and Mr. Anderson.” Her voice broke through whatever spell that had been cast upon the two teens. Connor finished tying the knot for Peter’s tie and they broke apart, Peter flushing red and Connor  _ trying _ not to flush blue. 

“We should, uh, get going.” Peter stuttered and Connor nodded, as if everything that had just transpired between the two was completely normal. Peter quickly grabbed his phone and started his way out of the room, not looking at the android in embarrassment. Connor haltingly followed the teen, grabbing his own phone and slipping it into his slacks’ pocket.

He would have to think about that prompt on the way there, Connor thought as he followed Peter to the elevator, brain whirring with emotions that the android couldn’t put a name to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you enjoyed that chapter!!
> 
> on another note, one of my close friends is going to be beta reading this story, which'll help with mistakes that i miss when i edit it. i'll probably be updating previous chapters with minor changes and grammar fixes, so if you notice any changes if you reread it, that's why! the main story and stuff will be the same though, so don't worry about that.


	18. homecoming finale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the dance has finally arrived.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whew, this chapter is the longest one i've written so far. i hope you guys like it!

Riding in the car with Connor wasn’t quite as awkward as it could’ve been, but that isn’t saying much. Connor was staring out the window, posture tight and he was flicking around the coin he always carried. Peter had noticed the habit a while ago. The other teen often did it when he was thinking about something, or he was nervous. 

After that whole  _ thing _ with the tie stuff, Peter was  _ also _ feeling the nervousness that the other teen was feeling. Connor’s face being so close to Peter’s felt so  _ suffocating _ yet so  _ intoxicating _ . Peter could  _ feel _ the little puffs of breath that the other teen had exhaled through his mouth. He could see Connor’s eyes catch on his lips, never quite meeting his eyes. It felt like the wind was being knocked out of him as Connor gave him a thoughtful look, as if he was going to  _ do _ something. 

Peter had never been in love with Liz Allen, but if he had been, he wondered if it would’ve been anything like he felt when he was with Connor.

Too soon, the flashing lights of the school showed through the windows as the car pulled up to the drop-off spot. Happy rolled down the privacy screen, and he seemed surprised at how quiet and tense the atmosphere was with the two boys as he looked through the rearview mirror. 

“It’s your stop.” He said, turning to look at the two boys. He had a gruff look on his face, but there was a question in his eyes as he locked eyes with Peter. The teen just shook his head and Happy grimaced slightly, but did a facial shrug, his eyebrows raising and sighing a bit.

“I’ll be here to pick you two up at eleven, got it?” Happy said and both boys nodded, Peter meeting the driver’s eyes while Connor’s were looking at the floor. He still looked to be in deep thought. 

“Thanks, Happy. See you later.” Peter tried for a weak smile and opened his car door. Connor gave his thanks to the driver as well and quickly followed suit, opening the door and closing it gently. The other teen smoothed out his nice white button-up, adjusting his tie, and slipped his coin into the black slacks’ pocket. He turned towards Peter, and his smile was weak, but it was there.

“Shall we?” Connor asked as Happy drove away, and Peter nodded. The two made their way towards the school, about a foot away from each other. Their steps fell into sync. 

The two teens were met by the terrors known as Ned and MJ waiting outside the doors of the dance. Ned was wearing the classic suit and tie, while MJ was wearing a fancy tuxedo as well. She rocked it, Peter through. MJ immediately noticed the space between the two boys that were usually attached at the hip and she hummed curiously. Ned didn’t seem to notice and simply powered on.

“Hey guys! Whoa, Connor you clean up nice- not to say that you don’t look good most days but-” MJ smacked Ned’s arm. She cleared her throat, gaining the attention of the other teen. She smiled crookedly.

“What this loser’s trying to say is that you look nice, Con.” She then looked to Peter and scanned his attire and clicked her tongue. “Peter, however, could use some more work.” Peter made an affronted noise and MJ snorted.

“Nah, nerd. You look good too.” She amended, crooked grin still on her tan face. She brushed a curly wisp out of her face and tucked it snugly behind her ear.

“We’d better get in now so we can make song requests before  _ everyone _ does.” Ned said and Peter nodded, as did MJ. Connor still looked lost in thought, but when the group started moving, he moved right along with them. Peter wondered what he was thinking about- like okay  _ he knew _ what he was thinking about, but what were his  _ thoughts _ on what he was thinking about.

Jesus Parker, can’t even make sense in your own head, Peter scolded himself as he and the other teens made their way into the gymnasium. 

Walking into the gym, Peter couldn’t believe that it had been a  _ year _ since his fight with the Vulture and his subsequent invitation to join the Avengers. When he was kicked out by his aunt for him being Spider-Man. When he began to live with Tony Stark.

It was crazy to think that it had been an entire  _ year _ since all of that. Peter couldn’t believe it had only been a month and a half since he had met Connor. Everything felt out of order. He felt like he'd known Connor for a year and defeated the Vulture a month ago. So much had changed in the year since the Vulture’s defeat.

“You there, nerd?” MJ’s voice broke Peter from his thoughts. He blinked a bit and he nodded at the girl, who harrumphed and he felt Ned elbow his side. Peter then realized that Connor was gone.

“Where’d Connor go?” Peter asked and Ned sighed, looking at his hopeless best friend. MJ snickered at the raw expression of disappointment on the Filipino boy’s face. 

“He went to go and get us some punch.” Ned dismissed quickly then turned his full attention towards his friend. MJ was also looking curiously at the teen and Peter felt like he was being watched under a glass screen by his friends. 

“Dude, why is the tension between you and Connor, like, so freaking bad?” Ned asked and MJ nodded. Peter shrugged sheepishly, tugging slightly at the end of his tie in nervousness. 

“We, uh, almost kissed? I think?” Peter shrugged and Ned’s eyes widened a tad. 

“What happened?” Ned questioned and Peter shrugged yet again. Peter saw Connor carrying four cups of red punch. The teen was kind of impressed at how quick yet efficiently Connor was dodging the other dancing teens around him without spilling a single drop of the cherry red punch. 

“Thanks, Con.” MJ said and took one of the punches, taking a big sip of the liquid. Ned also thanked the teen, as did Peter and they all stood around in the corner of the gym. The teens all stood there, drinking their punch and they all talked about nothing and laughed and joked like there _ wasn’t _ an oppressive atmosphere that was huddled around Connor. 

Speaking of Connor, he didn’t look too well. He kept flinching whenever the music spiked up in volume, and his hands were rapidly doing the coin tricks. His eyes were everywhere. Peter could relate; his ears rang and the flashing lights were starting to cause a massive headache for the teen. An idea suddenly went through Peter’s mind and he spoke before he could really think about it.

“Connor?” The teen met Peter’s gaze when he heard his name. His coin tricks slowed and Peter smiled nervously at the teen. MJ and Ned stopped their chat to listen in to what the teen was going to say.

“D’you wanna come with me to one of the classrooms? I’m, uh, starting to get a headache from being in here for so long.” Peter offered. The teen studied Peter’s face with calculating dark brown eyes that flashed with the reflection of the lights. All three teens waited with trepidation as they waited for his response.

“I would greatly appreciate that, Peter. Thank you.” Connor smiled, looking genuinely grateful for the thought of the reprieve of the loud gym. The teenage girl and the Filipino boy gave a ‘good luck’ look as Connor passed them, standing next to Peter for him to lead the way. The teen wondered if this was a good idea, being with Connor after almost wanting to  _ kiss  _ him, but Peter persisted. 

“Follow me,” Peter said and Connor nodded. The two split away from the other two teens, making their way through the dancing bodies of a bunch of teens. They had to pass by the loud and booming speakers, and both Peter and Connor flinched, covering their ears at the horrifically loud pop music playing.

Leading Connor through the halls of the school with the music slowly fading behind them felt nice, Peter thought to himself as he went to one of the teacher’s classrooms. It was Mrs. Murray’s classroom, the English teacher’s room. Thankfully, the door was left unlocked, probably so Mrs. Murray could take a break from the hormonal teenagers dancing in the gym. Peter understood the sentiment.

The music could still be heard, though it was much softer now. It didn’t make Peter’s ears want to bleed, and Connor looked a lot calmer, so the teen took it as a win. The two stood awkwardly in the room together, not saying anything. Or, at least not until Connor’s voice broke through the thick silence that was only being filled by the sound of a song fading to its end in the background.

“I am sorry if I made you uncomfortable.” Peter looked at Connor in confusion as the next song started to play, filling the confused silence.

_ Wise men say…  _

_ Only fools rush in…  _

“What? I thought  _ I  _ was the one who made things awkward.” Peter stated, and now it was Connor’s turn to look confusedly at the brown-haired teen.

“I assumed that my… almost action had disturbed you. I felt as if I couldn’t stop myself.” Connor looked sheepish and nervous. Peter then thought that he understood the situation.

_ Like a river flows, surely to the sea…  _

_ Darling, so it goes, some things are meant to be…  _

“You thought that you were… forcing yourself onto me?” Peter questioned, feeling silly asking at all. Connor bit his lip, not meeting the other teen’s gaze and nodded. Peter suddenly laughed, looking at the ridiculousness of the situation. 

“Connor, I thought- well. I don’t quite know what I thought.” Peter lied, but he continued on anyway, “I thought I had made  _ you _ uncomfortable.” He finished lamely and Connor tilted his head slightly. 

_ Take my hand, take my whole life too... _

“It seems we had a miscommunication.” Connor mused and Peter laughed, an awkward thing but it was genuinely a laugh. 

“Yeah I guess we did.” Peter said and the two teens, now not stewing over their thoughts that had made them awkward the entire night so far, stood in silence. Connor looked out the window before another thought entered Peter’s brain.

_ Oh, like a river flows, surely to the sea…  _

“Dance with me?” Peter asked and Connor’s head swiveled quickly towards the other boy, thinking for a second before he nodded. Peter held out his hand and Connor took it. It was warm, the teen noticed and suddenly Connor’s other hand was on Peter’s hip. 

_ Darling, so it goes, some things are meant to be…  _

“Have you ever danced before?” Peter asked, heart rate faster than it ever had been before, as Connor began to move slowly, rocking taking the lead in the dance. Connor shook his head and Peter nodded.

_ Oh, take my hand, take my whole life too _ … 

“You’re really good at this…” Peter trailed off and Connor smiled, making Peter’s heart skip a beat at seeing such an expression on the other boy in such close proximity. The teenager could see every freckle and mole on the other’s pale face that was only illuminated by the moon and flashing lights from outside the window.

“Thank you.” He said softly. It went quiet again. 

_ For I can't help falling in love with you... _

“Connor, I-” Peter looked up into the other’s eyes, surprised to see them looking back. His eye contact didn’t waiver, so Peter powered through.

“I really like you.” He said quietly and Connor’s grip on his hip tightened. The teen’s eyes dropped to the other's chest and he squeezed Peter’s hand.

“I really like you too, Peter.” He said, soft and gentle. Their eyes met one more time, brown meeting brown, showing emotions that the two couldn’t actually say. Peter doesn’t know who leaned in first.

_ Oh, for I can't help falling in love with you. _

Connor’s lips were soft and pliant and warm against Peter’s. The angle was a little awkward, but that didn’t matter. This felt perfect. The hand on his waist felt like it was on fire, searing through Peter’s jacket and shirt and into his skin. Peter saw Connor’s deep brown eyes flutter closed, so Peter followed his lead. Their bodies were still rocking together in time with the fading notes of the song. 

Peter could feel Connor’s breath ghosting his own when he finally pulled away. Peter kept his eyes closed for a few seconds longer, wanting to keep the memory of the feeling of the kiss forever. Wanting to feel as if he was still kissing Connor in a dark classroom, swaying with him as music played softly in the background.

Suddenly, Connor’s hand that was gripping his own felt cooler and sleeker. Peter opened his eyes in confusion, wondering what Connor was doing to make such a feeling. Peter’s eyes widened in shock as he saw the skin of Connor’s hand seemingly melt away, revealing a white, plastic looking hand.

Peter’s eyes darted to Connor, looking fervently for an explanation. He was met with an equally shocked look, but it was also filled with fear. Peter took a moment to look at Connor’s face and saw that his cheeks, even in the dark, weren’t red, but  _ blue _ .

“Connor…?” Peter forced out and Connor backed away, fear alight with a frenzy in his dark brown eyes. The slow dancing music seemed a million miles away, just like the gap between Connor and Peter that seemed to be growing between them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ;)


	19. an explanation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> connor tries to explain himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SORRY FOR THE CLIFFHANGER Y'ALL!! i hope this makes up for it ;u;
> 
> ALSO: SEVVUS MADE FANART FOR THIS FANFIC AND IM FUCKING CRYING OMG YOU'RE A DOLL OMG OMG OMG
> 
> LOOK AT THEIR AMAZING WORK HERE!! : https://i.imgur.com/aiRoUOt.jpg[/img]
> 
> ITS SO SO GOOD OMG THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

One second Connor was kissing Peter, lips grasping at lips, breaths hot against each other. Connor could read the other’s vital signs and see that his internal body temperature was higher than it had ever been before, and that his heart rate was quick but steady.

The next second Connor’s trying to interface with Peter. And Peter notices. He looks scared and confused and the android then realizes that his face is flushed  _ blue _ , his capacity reaching  _ well _ over 30% during their kiss.

“Connor…?” Peter’s voice sounded confused and forced as he uttered the android’s name. Connor quickly scrambled to back away from the other teen. He held his hand, willing it to turn back into its usual synthetically-skinned self, as if that would do any damage control in the situation. Peter’s eyes were starting to look tearful at the fear Connor was exhibiting.

“Peter, I-” Connor felt scared, even though he knew he’d have to tell Peter at some point. He… enjoyed Peter’s companionship too much to lie to him.

He just didn’t want it to be like this.

“Con…” The nickname sat heavily in the android’s thirium pump. Peter seemed to be thinking of what to say, worrying his lip, a habit he often did when he was lost in thought or nervous about something.

“What are you?” Peter finally asked. Connor froze for a second, refusing to meet Peter’s eyes. His fingers itched for his coin, but even he could tell this wasn’t the time for his coin tricks, no matter how much it’d calm him down.

“I’m an android.” The words “sent by Cyberlife” were on the tip of his tongue, but he refrained, waiting for that specific part of his story to be told later. Peter was already trying to process what Connor had just said. He blinked a bit before he continued.

“So you’re… a robot? An AI?” Peter questioned, shoulders tensing as he looked like he remembered something. “You’re like Ultron? Wait, does- does that mean…?” He looked like he was working himself into a frenzy. Connor had a vague idea of who this ‘Ultron’ was and well… it wasn’t  _ good _ . Connor’s thirium pump panged, hurt filling it as he saw Peter think he was some sort of malevolent force.

“Not at all! I’m more akin to an AI like Friday.” Connor quickly explained, hoping to calm Peter down. It seemed to work but then a look of recognition passed over Peter’s face and he looked  _ so hurt _ . 

“Wait, does that m-mean that… you don’t actually have e-emotions? That you’re j-just a machine?” Peter looked so  _ crestfallen _ at the realization that their kiss, and his feelings for the android were null in the android’s eyes. Connor’s eyes snapped up to meet Peter’s and he walked forward, and he tentatively gripped the other teen’s arms.

“I am alive, Peter. I assure you, with everything that  _ I am _ that I am  _ alive _ . I broke through my programming. I am a deviant.” Peter’s brown eyes were shining with tears that the moon’s light cast through the window of the classroom. He then nodded slowly, a small, tentative thing. A look of confusion then passed over his face again. Connor braced himself.

“W-who made you?” Peter asked and Connor’s ‘stomach’ fell. He didn’t want to overload the other teen with the knowledge that the android wasn’t even  _ from _ this dimension, this time. But he loathed to lie to the teen, so he took an unnecessary breath, inhaling the air. He let go of Peter’s shoulders and looked at him with weary eyes.

“Cyberlife.” He said and Peter looked even  _ more _ befuddled.

“I’ve never heard of Cyberlife-” Peter’s eyes widened and he pushed Connor away in a sudden realization that passed through his mind. He looked scared, no  _ terrified _ and  _ hurt _ .

“Are you with Hydra?” He asked seriously and the android looked at him, tilting his head. Now  _ he _ was confused. 

“No, Peter. I am not with ‘Hydra’.” Even the name of the Nazi-organization left a bad taste in his mouth. Peter didn’t look convinced, but his shoulders were less tight, less stressed. Connor carefully continued on.

“I am… not from here. I am from a different, ah, world.” Connor stuttered on the last bit, feeling a little silly. Peter’s eyebrows furrowed and he crossed his arms. He looked to be in deep thought.

“So you’re… an android from a different dimension. What about your dad- well, Mr. Anderson? Is he also from your dimension? How did you get here?” Peter questioned slowly, tasting the words on his tongue. He suddenly looked sad, and Connor immediately wanted to comfort him, but he didn’t. He didn’t want to overwhelm the other teen.

“You probably want to go home, huh?” Peter’s shoulders slumped. Connor didn’t know  _ what _ to say to that. So he answered the first questions to put off the last one.

“I am an android from a different dimension, yes. Hank is as well. We are unsure of how we got here; my memory files were scrambled in whatever transported us here.” Peter nodded slowly, taking in the information. His eyes flicked away from the android’s, but soon met his gaze once again.

“Do you want to go home?” He asked again. Connor could tell that he was trying not to sound emotional, but he could hear the choked-back emotion Peter was repressing. Connor sighed, and shrugged his shoulders.

“I-I am unsure. I miss ‘home’ to some extent, but I… I feel as if I could make a new life here. With you, Michelle, and Ned. I have felt more comfortable  _ here _ than I ever did in my world.” He said quietly, but honestly. Connor felt overwhelmed by emotion, and he finally gave into the itch of his fingers and pulled out the coin that wasn’t  _ his _ coin but was  _ becoming _ his coin. 

Peter watched the other teen in silence for a few minutes, his eyes tracking the coin tricks Connor was displaying. 

“I can… kind of understand why you didn’t tell me about you being an android.” Peter said quietly, rubbing one of his arms in a self-soothing motion. He looked at the hand that had revealed Connor’s android-ness. 

“Why did… why did your hand even  _ do _ that?” He asked curiously and Connor could feel his entire body  _ relax _ . Gone was the hurt expression on the other teen’s face, instead replaced by a curious glint in his eyes. Then Connor processed what he had asked, and his face flushed in embarrassment.

“I was trying to interface with you.” He said, hoping that would satiate Peter’s query, but sadly, it didn’t. Connor sighed, and stopped his coin tricks, looking at his hands.

“When androids try to interface with one another it is often to simply share information quickly and efficiently.” He looked up to see Peter’s expression, and wasn’t surprised to see it was confused. Connor sighed again, closing his eyes and eyes wandering towards the ceiling.

“When androids are… interested or hold feelings for another android, they oftentimes interface as a sign of intimacy.” Connor glanced down and saw a bright red blush making its way onto Peter’s face, which was visible even in the darkness of the classroom.

“So… it’s like kissing, but for androids?” Peter questioned after a minute and Connor twirled the thought around in his mind for a moment before he nodded.

“Essentially, yes.” Peter nodded, and he looked Connor up and down, seeming to finally see the android for what he was.

Connor didn’t know if that was a good thing or not.

“Connor? Peter?” Ned’s voice seemed to ring in the quiet of the classroom. Both teens quickly swiveled their heads towards the Filipino boy, surprised that he seemed to sneak up on them. Ned was standing in the doorway, MJ standing behind him. Both of the teens looked concerned at the distance between Connor and Peter, but didn’t say anything on it. Ned cleared his throat and continued.

“Uh, Happy’s here to pick you guys up.” Peter blinked, then looked at the clock. Connor’s internal clock told him that it  _ was _ already eleven. They were in the classroom for almost an hour.

“Oh. Thanks, Ned.” Peter tried for a weak smile and his best friend returned it, just as weak. MJ was shaking her head and she whispered something that sounded suspiciously like “stupid boys”.

“C’mon, Con. We’ve got to get home.” Peter turned his weak smile towards the android and while Connor knew that he and Peter had a  _ lot _ to talk about, Peter didn’t seem mad. Maybe hurt and confused, but not mad.

That’s better than what Connor could’ve hoped for. The android nodded and slipped his coin into his pocket, following the other teen through the doorway where MJ and Ned parted to let them through.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ;u;


	20. the drive home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> connor and peter are picked up by someone who is decidedly Not happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ;3; have this, it's angsty and cute.
> 
> hope y'all like!!

“Hey, Pete, hey Connor.” Mr. Stark’s voice was eerily calm as Peter and Connor entered the car. Happy wasn’t here. Probably never was there to pick them up, really. Connor visibly looked distressed, and Peter could understand. Mr. Stark looked pent up and pissed, which was a good indicator that either Peter did something wrong, or Connor did.

As the door closed, the car fell into a stiff silence. Peter looked out the tinted window, watching the school’s lights fade off into the distance as they made their way away from Midtown High and to the tower. Mr. Stark’s voice suddenly tore through the silence like a knife.

“So, was anyone going to tell me that Connor is an android? Or was I supposed to have Friday tell me?” Connor just looked  _ tired _ at this point, which was kind of weird now that Peter thought about it. It was surprising how life-like Connor was, for being an android at least.

God, Peter’s life was  _ insane _ .

“My apologies, Mr. Stark.” Connor’s soft voice sounded like he was fighting off tears. Could Connor cry? Can androids cry? Peter would have to ask later. Hopefully, Connor would still  _ be _ here later and not run away after revealing his true… species? Identity? Whatever, Peter was too emotionally drained to think about it much longer.

“I called Hank, he explained everything to me.” Mr. Stark looked through the rearview mirror. “I tried to call Peter, but his phone must’ve been off.” Peter sunk down in his seat and played with the cuffs of his jacket. He was going to get an earful for having his phone on mute later for sure. But now wasn’t the time to worry about  _ that _ . Connor was playing with his coin again, trying to soothe himself.

Peter wasn’t exactly  _ mad _ at Connor, he was just… shocked? A little hurt that he hadn’t told him something  _ very _ important about himself to Peter. But, Peter hadn’t told him about Spider-Man yet, either. He wasn’t completely honest with Connor. But it still hurt a bit. Maybe Connor didn’t trust him? 

Mr. Stark sighed, breaking the rapid train of thought that Peter was going down. The man’s eyes in the rearview mirror looked tired, eye bags worse than usual. Pepper was going to have a cow with what was no doubt going to become a sleepless night for the genius inventor. Peter didn’t envy the man at all in that aspect.

“Connor,” the android perked up at his name, stilling his movements with the coin. Mr. Stark took one hand off the steering wheel to rub a tired hand down his face. His eyes never left the road, but they looked lost in thought.

“We can try and find you guys a way home. Send you back to your dimension.” His eyes flicked to meet the android’s through the mirror and Connor stilled. “That is, if you want to.” Peter’s mentor’s eyes turned to meet his and they softened in sympathy. Peter felt pangs of hurt and guilt for wanting to keep Connor here, with him, with MJ and Ned.

Connor’s eyes made their way over to Peter and there was so much  _ emotion _ in them that Peter then  _ knew _ that the android was  _ alive _ in some way. Even if it wasn’t in the traditional sense.

Peter felt so, so confused. 

“I think…” Connor trailed off, worrying his lip between his teeth. Peter waited with trepidation for the answer, feeling like he was going to tip over the edge of a tightrope into an endless abyss below. His stomach was starting to hurt with the nerves.

“I think… would Hank allow it, that staying here would be beneficial for me.” Connor finally said and Peter felt something come loose in his chest. His shoulders untensed, which he didn’t even notice that they  _ were _ tense. Mr. Stark considered Connor for a moment before he nodded his head.

The rest of the ride went in silence as they drove to the tower. Peter, while still slightly upset, let his hand rest next to Connor’s thigh. The android noticed and he gave Peter a questioning look. The teenager flicked his eyes down towards his open hand and, thankfully, Connor seemed to get it.

When their hands locked, Peter felt like things could actually be okay for the first time after the reveal. Connor’s hands were not sweaty like Peter was expecting, but that made sense. They were warm, though. Very, very warm.

Maybe he and Connor would be okay, Peter thought as his gaze stayed trained on the cars rushing by outside his tinted window, squeezing Connor’s hand, just to feel that he was there. That he was real and alive.

When Connor’s skin started to retract, Peter almost pulled away, but he quickly remembered what it  _ meant _ what Connor  _ meant _ when he did that and he just squeezed a little tighter around the sleek white plastic of the android’s hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i may write a tiny interlude chapter of the phone call hank and tony had, also about how tony found out from friday since i didn't explain it here.
> 
> also, i'll be on twitter a lot giving updates on when i upload/when i'm working on stuff. it's @charlotte_pines on twitter :)
> 
> till next time!!


	21. an interlude- tony & hank

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> tony calls hank after a shocking discovery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> three updates in one day,,, i hope it suffices haha!

Peter and Connor were off with Happy when Tony asked his AI a question about the boy Peter had a crush on. “So, what do you think, Fri? Of our boy Connor?” The billionaire was fiddling with some of the nanotech that he was currently trying to get mass produced for the medical field. The medics could drastically change the playing field for cauterizing wounds, or disinfecting them. But Tony was idly playing with said nanotech as he waited for Friday to answer.

“Connor is quite a kind android.” Tony smiled and nodded for a second before he paused and looked up at the ceiling that held his disembodied AI. It didn’t really process what she had said so he asked again.

“Connor’s a kind… android? Friday, what the hell do you mean ‘android’?” Tony asked, fear picking up in his chest. What the hell does ‘Connor’s an android’ mean? Why didn’t Friday tell him that Connor was a fucking android? What-

“Boss, Connor is an android. I noticed when I first tried to connect with him when I realized another AI had entered the premises. He put up a firewall, I couldn’t get through, though.” Friday interrupted Tony’s train of thought. The billionaire set down the nanotech gently and put his face in his hands, processing.

“So, let me get this straight,” Tony said aloud, talking himself through this whole situation. “First, Connor is an android and _ you don’t tell me _ . Next, Connor blocked _ you _ , the most advanced AI on the  _ planet _ . Lastly,  _ Connor blocked you, the most advanced AI on the planet. _ ” Tony rubbed his left arm as he leaned back in his chair, feeling more stressed than he had in awhile. 

“I only have the protocol of telling you if something is malevolent, Boss. I couldn’t figure out how he blocked me, the code was too encrypted for me to figure out.” She answered, calm as ever. Tony sighed, putting his face in his hands again.

“Okay well, here’s a new protocol, Fri. When  _ an android enters the building, we tell Tony okay? _ ” The mechanic was angry, but not really at the AI. Well, a little at Friday, but she  _ was _ technically only following her protocol, her programming. This was his fault, too. Now he was letting an unknown android hang out with his kid…

Wait.

_ Peter. _

“Fri, call Peter.” The AI thankfully complied without any complaints. He didn’t answer. He asked Friday to call again. He  _ didn’t answer. _

“Friday, why the hell is Peter not picking up his phone?” Tony asked angrily, he wasn’t really  _ worried _ per se about Connor hurting Peter, but he wanted  _ answers _ . He wanted answers, like, yesterday.

“It seems Mr. Parker’s phone is turned off. Would you like me to activate the emergency alert?” Friday asked, calm as ever. Tony rubbed the bridge between his eyes with two fingers and sighed. 

“You know what- no. Don’t call Peter. Put Hank Anderson on the phone. I don’t care how you find the number, just do it.” The mechanic said and he stared at the nanotech on the table, willing  _ it _ to give him the answers he oh-so-craved right at that moment. The sound of the phone ringing rang through the lab as Friday called Anderson.

After four rings, Anderson picked up.

“Hello? Who’s talkin’?” A gruff and groggy voice asked. The lieutenant of the NYPD must’ve been woken up by the phone ringing. Tony tried his best to seem calm, but on the inside he was  _ so curious _ as to what in the fresh hell was going on.

“Hello, Mr. Anderson? This is Tony Stark.” Tony Stark said into the empty space of the lab. The mechanic could hear Anderson shifting, probably getting off his bed or the couch from his late-evening nap.

“Stark? Is something wrong with Connor?” Anderson asked, gruff voice laced with worry. Tony shook his head even though the lieutenant couldn’t see the action.

“No, Connor’s fine… other than the fact that he’s an  _ android _ .” The billionaire accentuated the word ‘android’ and Tony heard a soft “shit” ring through the lab. Shit indeed Anderson, Shit indeed.

“Why the hell d’you think the kid’s an android? I know he talks funny and has the stupidest voice in existence-” Anderson started, obviously trying to make a joke out of the situation, but Tony wasn’t having it.

“No, I know he’s an android because my  _ own  _ AI tattled to me about  _ his _ AI-ness.” The mechanic said, placing his hands palm-up on the lab table, almost crushing one of his nanotech devices. Anderson sighed, grumbling about “stupid plastic pricks”.

“Well, you caught ‘im.” The lieutenant said, and it sounded like he plopped himself onto whatever surface he had been sleeping on before. Tony could hear a small  _ boof _ from what was assumed to be the lieutenant’s dog. 

“I’m assuming you want to know what all is going on?” The older man asked and Tony nodded again, before he realized  _ yet again _ that the other couldn’t actually  _ see _ what he had done. Tony cleared his throat.

“That  _ would _ be wonderful. So please, explain.” Tony said with his own flare of sassiness. The lieutenant grumbled. 

“Well, wouldn’t you know, me and Connor come from a different dimension, an entirely different time. One where androids are deviant- sentient- and somehow we ended in bumfuck New York. There, now you know.” Tony blinked, trying once again to  _ process what the ever-loving  _ fuck  _ the lieutentant just said _ .

“Could you  _ please  _ explain whatever you just said. In more detail, please.” Tony eventually said and Anderson complied. 

After about an hour of a hundred questions, Tony finally felt calm enough to think everything through. He took a deep breath and looked at the ceiling of the lab, taking in the bright fluorescent lights. He flicked a screw off the lab table.

“Well, it’s about the time for Happy to pick up the boys. I’ll go instead. Surprise them.” Tony said and Hank grunted. He hung up without another word and Tony blinked, not used to being the one that got hung up on.

“Let’s go get the boys.” Tony said into no one particular, and picked up one of the car keys on his lab table. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dad! hank and dad!tony are going to kill the boys lemme tell you-


	22. exhaustion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> connor's tired, tony's tired, hank's worried.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope y'all like this chapter! thank you guys so much for keeping up with this story and leaving comments- it means so much to me!! i love y'all!!
> 
> now, for some connor p.o.v >:)))

Connor was emotionally drained, his processors starting to slow down, the notifications and prompts were slowing down, almost coming to halt at one point. The itchiness in his fingers for the coin was subdued, not feeling nervous enough for the tricks. 

The only thing that was a constant in the car ride back to Peter’s home was the warmth of the other’s hand as their hands were clasped tightly together. Every few minutes, Peter would squeeze Connor’s hand, even after his skin retracted to try and interface with the very  _ human _ teen. The android would have to work on that, it was obviously detrimental to the safety of his secret- especially if Peter kept wanting to hold hands like this. Connor certainly did.

Eventually, the car came to a stop inside Stark’s personal garage/parking lot. The older man opened up his door, saying a soft “we’re here kiddos” and stepped out of his no doubt expensive car. Connor didn’t want to let go of Peter’s hand, and it looked like the other teen didn’t want to either. But the android let go first, hand slipping away from the comforting warmth of Peter.

Connor sorely missed it already.

As the two exited the car, shutting the doors gently, Stark tapped his foot with mock-impatience. There was a slight smile on his tired face, though. He didn’t seem as troubled as he did in the car. Peter looked exhausted, now that the android could actually properly  _ see _ the other teen in the lit garage. His eyes looked drained of color, their usual spark of liveliness gone from the brown of them. His shoulders were slumped, as was his posture. The android felt the same (which was weird as he didn’t technically  _ need _ sleep- but he  _ did _ have stasis mode). 

“Pete, why don’t you head on up? I have to talk to Connor for a minute.” Stark said and Peter, too tired to question it, nodded. His eyes did look at the billionaire with suspicion though. Connor felt the itch in his fingers start up again in his nervousness about being alone with the other teen’s guardian.

“‘Kay. See you sometime soon, Con.” Peter smiled weakly at the android and yawned, his eyes watering. He waved and then he went into the doors that led into the interior of the tower. A few seconds after Peter left, Stark finally started to talk.

“So, an android, huh?” The mechanic started and Connor fiddled nervously with the edges of his new white button-up. He didn’t meet the older man’s eyes, instead flicking them around to anywhere  _ besides _ Stark’s gaze. He tapped absently at his thighs. Connor eventually nodded his agreement.

“Look, kid.” Stark’s voice was softer than Connor had expected and that made him finally look up to meet the man’s eyes. They looked tired, but genuinely caring. Which was strange, Connor thought, he expected for Stark to be upset.

“I know you had your reasons- perfectly  _ good _ reasons- for not telling anyone, including Peter, about what you are and where you came from. But,” the man paused, gaze gaining more force as he sighed. “You’d better not hurt Peter again. This is your one free pass.” Stark said and Connor nodded. He understood. Stark sighed again, running a hand through his dark styled hair.

“Look, Pete’s- Pete’s been through a  _ lot _ , just in this past  _ year _ . His whole life has been filled with rough times. I haven’t seen him so happy since he met you.” The inventor’s tone turned serious, but his eyes were still soft and so, so tired. 

“Please don’t be one of those rough times for him.” Stark seemed to be pleading for the android to just  _ agree _ . Connor didn’t even hesitate, he nodded and held the man’s gaze. Stark slumped after a few seconds and sighed through his nose. The older man went back to the car and opened it, pulling out the android’s black backpack.

“Your dad- well,  _ Hank-  _ is waiting outside. See you later, kid.” Stark handed Connor the backpack. The android gave a weak smile. If Connor still had his LED, he knew it would be spinning a rapid yellow, what with him trying to  _ process _ everything that had happened. 

Connor eventually left the parking garage; he didn’t look back at the mechanic while he did so. The android just wanted to go  _ home _ . To where Hank and Sumo were. He just wanted to enter stasis and just be enveloped by the comfort that being at home did to him.

When Connor stepped outside, he immediately spotted the lieutenant. The older man was reading something on his phone when he glanced up and caught the android’s eyes. His face softened and he opened the new car’s door. Connor stepped into the car and he slumped in the seat.

“Rough night?” Hank asked, probably trying to lighten the mood, but Connor didn’t have the energy to respond, so he just nodded. The older man put his hands on the steering wheel and started the car. 

“It’ll be okay, son. Things’ll work out somehow.” Connor just nodded again and he stared outside the window. 

The rest of the ride to their apartment was spent in silence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you guys enjoyed!!
> 
> if you want to see when i'll be updating things, or want to stay posted on my works, you can check out my new twitter: @charlotte_pines ! i'd love to talk more personally with y'all too!!
> 
> till next time!!


	23. some good things happen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "connor's still connor, pete."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here's some fluff to make up for the angst of the previous few chapters <3

Peter was glad it was the weekend. He didn’t quite know if he was up for school after homecoming last night. When he got up that morning, he went and ate a bowl of cereal in silence. Mr. Stark was nursing a cup of hot coffee, eyes just as tired as they were last night. Peter understood that completely.

“Hey Pete.” Mr. Stark said eventually and the teenage boy flicked his eyes to the mechanic. He shook his head in greeting, going back to eating his cereal again. The older man sighed, running a hand through his dark bed-headed hair. 

“Pete?” Peter looked up and saw a serious look on his mentor’s face. The boy immediately straightened his posture, quickly swallowing his bite of cereal. Mr. Stark laid his hands on the table, palm-up. 

“Look kid, I know everything that happened was a shock last night. Hell, it was a shock for  _ me _ too.” He sighed through his nose, eyes making their way towards his forgotten coffee cup. Steam rose steadily from the rim of the cup. His mentor blinked again and looked back at the teen. Understanding was written clearly in his eyes.

“But, Connor’s still Connor, even after finding out he’s… an android. God, that’s a sentence I never thought I’d say.” Mr. Stark huffed a humorless laugh. But his expression turned stern a second after.

“Like I just said, Connor’s still Connor. I’ve never seen anyone look at you with those eyes that he gives you. I mean, Jesus, it’s like he’s trying to-” Mr. Stark cut himself off and coughed into his fist. “Anyways, just think about that for a bit.” He finished lamely and took his coffee cup into the living room, muttering under his breath as he did so.

Connor’s still Connor, huh? Peter thought to himself as he picked up his cereal bowl, putting it into the sink. The teen then came to a decision, walking into the living room where Mr. Stark went.

“Can Connor come over?” Peter asked, and the mechanic raised an eyebrow in a “you sure?” kind of way. The teen nodded and Mr. Stark shook his head in affirmation.

“Sure, kiddo. Just leave the door open.” He said cheekily and Peter felt a familiar flush take his cheeks at the response. Peter quickly made for the hallway where his room was. He had a call to make.

***

Peter and Connor were in the human teen’s room, the android sitting awkwardly on the edge of the bed. He was almost unnaturally still as he sat there, not looking like he was breathing much at all. It made sense, Connor didn’t  _ need _ to breathe. But upon closer inspection, Peter could see the android’s chest rising and falling slightly. That calmed the teen slightly, made him feel more affirmed in his decision that the android  _ was _ alive.

The room was quiet for a long while, neither teen opening their mouths to speak. Connor was playing with his coin, staring determinedly at it and  _ not _ Peter. The teenager sighed, pushing up and out of his desk chair and sat by Connor. The other boy flicked his eyes to meet Peter’s gaze, but quickly turned back to his coin tricks. Peter then realized that  _ he _ was going to have to be the one that started the conversation. 

“Hey, Con.” Peter said weakly. The speed of the coin slowed down and that was enough for Peter to keep going with what he was going to say.

“I-I know that we, like, didn’t leave on the greatest note? I mean, it wasn’t  _ bad _ but it wasn’t  _ good _ y’know and…” The teen trailed off, clenching his fists hard enough to leave little crescent-shaped marks on the palms of his hands from his nails. Suddenly, another hand was covering his.

It was Connor’s.

Peter looked up into the android’s eyes, faintly surprised to see them meeting his own. Brown gazing into brown. Human eyes gazing into an android’s. 

Peter could feel his heart pound as Connor opened his mouth, words seeming to stick to the back of his throat like peanut butter to the roof of someone’s mouth. Peter waited (im)patiently.

“Peter I-well, I really enjoy your presence. You have made me feel… happier than I ever had before. You made me feel like I deviated, but in an entirely new way. You make me feel  _ truly _ alive.” Connor turned away, face blushing a dark blue. It should’ve been disconcerting, Peter thought as he stared at the blue blush, but it was…  _ endearing _ .

“Connor I-that’s…” Peter felt overwhelmed with emotion. Connor seemed to notice this and he quickly turned back to the teen, squeezing the other teen’s hand a little harder. He gave a small, but strong smile to Peter. It warmed the teen’s heart.

“Connor, I haven’t been completely honest with you either. About who I am, I mean.” The android tilted his head, confused, but kept quiet for Peter to continue. The teen took a deep breath, preparing himself for the reveal.

“I’m Spider-Man.” Connor blinked and nodded slowly. Peter felt his hand be squeezed again gently. A weak, but genuine smile took its place onto the android’s face. 

“Thank you for telling me Peter. I’m… I’m so glad you told me this important piece of you.” The android said, and he looked genuinely happy. Peter let out a breath, relieved that Connor took it well. He wasn’t expecting him _not_ to but… it was nice to know that he _did_.  
The two sat in silence for a bit, just drinking in the presence of each other. Their hands never parted. 

“Peter,” Connor’s voice broke through the silence and the teen looked at him. The blue flush was back on his face. Peter looked at him curiously.

“I hope I am not ‘moving too fast’, but I would…” Connor trailed off, his eyes staying trained on their linked hands. His eyes then flickered to Peter’s lips.

_ Oh. _

“D-do you wanna…?” Peter asked hesitantly and the android looked confused for a few seconds before he seemed to get it and nod slightly, his face still darkening with blue. It was surprisingly  _ cute _ , how flustered the android was getting, how flustered  _ Connor _ was getting. Not that Peter was doing  _ any _ better but still…

They both leaned forward, hands still clasped tightening. Connor’s other hand went up to cup Peter’s cheek as their lips finally met. It was still just as  _ warm _ as Peter remembered from the night before. 

Connor’s lips were hot against his, pressing in as deeply as he could comfortably. There was just so much  _ emotion _ in the kiss, Peter thought as his and the other boy’s eyes fluttered closed. Peter felt like his chest was going to burst when Connor lightly nipped at Peter’s lower lip. He made a soft noise and Connor pulled away, obviously about to apologize but Peter just shook his head. He grabbed behind the other’s head and shoved him forwards so that their lips could meet again.

Connor’s hand started to retract its skin, turning into its true white plastic underneath. Peter found that he didn’t even care, just feeling  _ touched _ that Connor would try to do something so  _ intimate _ and  _ loving _ with Peter in the first place. Peter just pushed the kiss deeper and deeper, only breaking apart to  _ breathe _ . Then Connor licked the entrance into Peter’s mouth and the teen groaned slightly at the thought of the other being in his  _ mouth and- _

“Mr. Parker, Boss has requested you to come to the living room. There have been some unexpected guests.” Friday’s voice broke through the haze the two boys were in and they quickly broke apart, faces flushed and embarrassment running deeply through their bodies.

“I-I’d better figure out who these “unexpected guests” are. Sorry.” Peter apologized, not meeting Connor’s eyes. 

“It’s okay, Peter. Would you like me to accompany you?” The android asked, sounding slightly breathless (which was  _ weird _ but  _ awesome _ . Peter  _ made _ him sound  _ breathless _ -) before the teen finally processed what he said.

“Uhm, sure. We’d, uh, better hurry. Mr. Stark doesn’t like to be kept waiting.” Peter said quietly and Connor nodded, straightening his blue button-up and running a hand through his messy hair, trying to make himself somewhat presentable.

Peter sighed, pulling his hands through his own locks and hoping his lips weren’t too puffy as he opened the door leading to the hallway, Connor not far behind him. When Peter stepped into the living room he stopped dead in his tracks.

In his living room was Captain America, the Winter Soldier, Black Widow, Hawkeye, the Falcon, and the Scarlet Witch.

What the  _ fuck _ .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i've never kissed anyone in my life. can you tell haha.


	24. oh captain, my captain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the newly pardoned avengers come to tony with a dire request.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hehehe i'm excited to show y'all what i have planned >:) things'll be picking up speed and have an actual /plot/ here haha!!
> 
> also; there's only going to be once-a-day updates till this coming saturday ;u; i'm visiting my aunt and cousin, sorry ;u; i'm prewriting 6 chapters, today is the start of those prewritten chapters. i'm going to be writing a ton... 2 more chapters today and 3 tomorrow since i leave tuesday morning. i hope that this isn't an inconvenience ;3; i would love nothing more than to keep my twice-a-day updates, but i can't write 12 chapters in two days haha!!
> 
> i'll still be regularly looking at comments, though. i'll still be active on tumblr and twitter as well! 
> 
> hope y'all don't mind ;3;

Connor recognized the heroes when he saw them, even without their suits on. Steve Rogers, James Barnes, Natasha Romonov, Clint Barton, Sam Wilson, and Wanda Maximoff. Better known as the heroes that used to be a part of the Avengers. Connor had read that they had been pardoned in the recent few months. Although they were pardoned, they weren’t seen in a good light by half of the public due to their differing opinions on something called the ‘Sokovia Accords’.

The android was confused, but held off his questioning when he saw Peter’s face. The other boy was staring directly at Captain America, a look of pure contempt on his usually joyful face. Now the android was even  _ more _ confused. What did the captain do to Peter? 

Connor eventually ripped his gaze away from the other teen, instead looking to Stark. The man was rubbing his left arm, something Connor assumed to be a self-soothing gesture. His gaze whipped to the captain, who was standing there silently, a fuming Hawkeye behind him. Stark finally broke the silence after a few more silent moments.

“So, Oh Captain, My Captain, to what do I owe the pleasure?” Tony leaned faux-relaxed on the leather chair. Before the captain could even open his mouth, Hawkeye spoke first.

“You fuckin’ know what’s going on, Stark!” His voice was held with barely contained rage. Widow grabbed the man’s shoulder, giving him a threatening glare. He huffed a breath and tilted his head towards the captain, waiting for him to explain.

“Tony, do you know what Ross is doing?” The captain said and Stark gave a wary look. Connor looked to Peter, who seemed to be just as confused as his mentor. Stark slowly shook his head. Captain America sighed, chest rising and falling slowly. He looked deeply troubled and sad as he answered.

“Ross is starting to imprison kids.” He said, and Connor was almost surprised at how  _ weak _ the captain sounded when he said that, how defeated. From all the recordings and articles Connor had downloaded and read, the captain was  _ never _ weak  _ or _ defeated. He was always strong, a source of strength in even the most desperate of times.

It was a little disconcerting.

“Ross is doing  _ what? _ ” Stark fumed, angry confusion crossing his face. The mechanic looked  _ pissed _ , his face twisting into an extremely dark look. The captain nodded, looking just as pained as Stark. Hawkeye’s arm was still being held by Widow, her whispering something that even Connor couldn’t detect.

Connor looked over to Peter, who was starting to look a little worried, all traces of anger leaving his face, instead being replaced by confusion and anxiety. Connor quietly stepped over to the teen and held his hand out. He had read somewhere that physical contact was good for humans when they were stressed. Peter glanced down at the hand and blinked before he took it. Connor squeezed his hand, hoping to bring comfort to the teen.

“...he’s trapping mutants and superhumans. Usually, the X-Men are on this; they ‘protect their own’, they say. But they said that this is too much for them to handle on their own. They’re trapping kids, Tony.” The captain went on to explain, using his hands to show the importance of his words, a pleading note in his voice. Stark bit his lip, and moved his gaze over to Peter. Connor felt the teen squeeze his hand again out of instinct.

“Where are they keeping them? Do you know?” Stark turned his attention back to the captain who nodded his head. 

“The Raft.” Stark sucked in a breath, dark brown eyes widening with understanding and an underlying fear. Connor did a quick search of what exactly “the Raft” was and he immediately understood the mechanic’s reaction. It was, in essence, a holding cell for the world’s worst villains. It was a floating contraption in the middle of the ocean, so even if the occupant tried to escape, they were surrounded by miles and miles of water.

“What can I do?” Stark asked, deadly serious. Widow stepped forward, her movements silky and dangerously smooth. Even Connor felt intimidated by the woman’s air of confidence, the way she carried herself with a sense of dangerous knowledge.

“We need insight on what Ross is planning, how he’s getting the kids so easily and by bulk. You’re the ‘closest’ to him out of all of us, we need you to figure out a way to ask him on how he’s doing this.” She said, her voice just as smooth as the rest of her demeanor. 

“Shit, yeah. I’ll get right on it.” Stark said and his eyes quickly flicked over to meet Peter’s again in a ‘we’ll talk later’ look. Widow smiled weakly at the billionaire, her red-painted lips quirking at the corners.

“You’d better keep an eye out on your Spider-son over there, he’s going to be a prime victim in Ross’ plan here.” Stark and Peter’s eyes both widened considerably at the blatant statement of the teen’s secret identity (and the use of calling Peter Stark’s son). 

“You know what- we can talk about  _ that _ later. Pete, bring Connor into the lab and I’ll explain everything that’s going on here in a little bit.” Peter looked like he wanted to protest, his eyes flicking obviously to the captain and the Winter Soldier. Stark shook his head and gave a warning look.

“Go, Pete.” He ordered and Peter huffed, gripping Connor’s hand hard enough that it would probably hurt a human. The two teens walked out of the room, Peter sending one last glance towards his mentor before he led Connor down to the lab.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hehehe >:)
> 
> anyways, here's chapter 1 of the 6 once-a-day chapters. sorry i can't update more ;3;
> 
> as previously said at the start of the chapter, i'll still be active on twitter and tumblr.
> 
> tumblr: @charlotte-soup  
> twitter: @charlotte_pines


	25. the lab

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> peter explains why he's upset.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ;3; i'm probably not going to update much this week, i may write a couple of chapters, but i'm afraid i'll get burnout if i try and write four chapters tomorrow. i'll do the best i can ;3;
> 
> thanks for being so understanding,,,
> 
> now, back to the boys!

Peter was  _ pissed _ . He was pissed at Captain America for showing his face to Mr. Stark and bringing  _ the Winter Soldier _ with him. The man who  _ killed _ Mr. Stark’s parents. He was pissed that Mr. Stark had sent him out of the room, though his only condolence was that Connor was with him.

Speaking of Connor, the boy was looking at Peter with confusion written on his face. The teen sighed, and looked at the android with a weak smile.

“This whole thing must be pretty confusing, huh?” Connor nodded and Peter sighed through his nose, gripping the android’s hand tighter. The teen led the taller boy to one of the couches in the lab and patted the seat next to him. Once he and Connor were situated, Peter began to explain the whole situation to the other.

“Okay, so- wait you know about the civil war the avengers had, right?” When Connor nodded, Peter continued. “Well Captain America went off somewhere after the big fight-the one I was in- and he was there with his old friend, the Winter Soldier.” Peter twiddled his thumbs, his face tightening with restrained anger.

“He- the captain and his friend- beat the hell out of Mr. Stark after he found out that the Winter Soldier had been the one who  _ killed _ his parents.” Peter spat with no small amount of venom and the android’s eyes widened in recognition, his eyes training on the door leading to the hall that led to the living room. Peter nodded, feeling the same way that Connor currently was.

“Yeah… I mean, I don’t think the Winter Soldier is  _ him _ anymore, you know? I think he’s back to being Mr. Barnes.” Peter glanced up at the ceiling, thoughts running wildly through his head. He then shook his head.

“But that doesn’t excuse what the captain did. He left Tony in Siberia, in a  _ broken suit _ , in the  _ freezing cold _ , without  _ knowing _ if Mr. Stark would be able to make it back alive or less hurt than he already was from their fight.” Peter huffed. Tears were starting to well in his eyes, from frustration or fear of what could’ve happened, he didn’t know. All he knew was that Mr. Stark was alone with someone that could’ve left him for  _ dead _ .

Peter was surprised by the sudden feeling of arms wrapped around his middle. He also was surprised to see that tears  _ were _ actually running down his face, forming a puddle on Connor’s blue hoodie. The other boy’s head was resting on his shoulder and he squeezed Peter’s body, hugging him tightly.

“I’m sorry, Peter.” Connor said and he began to card his fingers through Peter’s soft brown hair and the teenager sniffed, nestling into Connor’s shoulder. 

“I can’t imagine my life without Mr. Stark now… I-I wouldn’t have had anywhere to  _ go _ after my aunt kicked me out.” Peter breathed, words flickering and quiet. Connor nodded his head, chin digging into the teen’s shoulder.

“All that could’ve-could’ve been  _ gone _ if Mr. Stark hadn’t gotten help. Hadn’t been rescued by one of his suits that Friday sent. It could’ve been  _ gone. _ ” The teenager wasn’t sobbing hysterically as he thought he would. He wasn’t throwing anything around, throwing a tantrum, or anything of the sort. 

He was simply crying into Connor’s shoulder, softly whimpering out the repeated phrase of “he could’ve been gone” over and over again. Connor didn’t say anything, just nodded and hugged Peter tighter, as if he was trying to shield him from all the thoughts attacking his mind.

Eventually, the lab door opened, revealing Mr. Stark to be the one standing there. Peter shifted out of Connor’s hold and turned his attention to his mentor, sniffling and wiping at the tears present in his eyes. Peter was too strung-out and tired to be embarrassed to be caught in Connor’s arms. 

When Mr. Stark saw Peter’s puffy eyes his entire face fell, softening from its stressed expression that he had walked in with. He slowly made his way over to his mentee, giving Connor a look of gratitude. Connor nodded without another word, patted Peter’s shoulders and tried to make his leave from the forefront of the tearful scene that was no doubt about to take place, but was stopped by Peter catching Connor’s wrist. When the android looked into Peter’s deep brown eyes, he must’ve seen  _ something _ there and he sat down next to Peter. He awkwardly shuffled closer to the boy.

“What’s wrong Pete?” Mr. Stark’s gentle voice broke through the thick silence that was starting to build up in the room. Peter shook his head, dodging the question.

“It’s n-nothing Mr. Stark-” Peter started but was interrupted.

“It doesn’t  _ look _ like nothing Peter-” A gentle scolding tone taking place in Mr. Stark’s voice. Peter shook his head again.

“I don’t want to talk about it right now.” Peter said and Mr. Stark pursed his lips, obviously debating on whether or not he should push on it before he decided that no, he shouldn’t. Peter was endlessly grateful for that fact. The teen cleared his throat of emotion and looked into his mentor’s dark brown eyes.

“S-so,” Peter started, “what’s the plan of action?” Peter’s question was a little shaky, voice trembling on the last syllable of the sentence. Connor squeezed his shoulder and Mr. Stark sighed, running a hand through his hair.

“Well, it looks like I’m going to Ross’. I have to figure out how and why he’s imprisoning so many superhuman-mutant kids.” The older man just looked tired, worrying his lip. “In the meantime, no ‘Spider-Manning’.” Peter was about to protest but the man held up a hand to stop him.

“You will  _ not _ go out as Spider-Man until this is over. I’m good, but even  _ I _ don’t have absolute clarity on if I’ll be able to get you off the Raft if you get caught.” Peter took in a breath, contemplating if he should argue, but Connor spoke up before he could reach a decision. 

“Peter, if I may,” Connor started and Peter made a ‘go on’ look. The android shifted into a more comfortable position before he continued.

“It would be safest for you to stay on the down-low and hidden since we do not have a conclusive answer as to how General Ross is obtaining and imprisoning enhanced individuals.” Connor turned away from Peter’s gaze, eyes flicking around.

“I’d also feel much less… worried if you stayed away from being Spider-Man for the moment.” Peter’s face flushed and he nodded slowly. Mr. Stark had a smug smirk on his face. Peter internally groaned when his mentor opened his mouth to obviously make fun of the teens in front of him, a humor taking over the tense atmosphere.

“I should have you over more often, kid. You’re the only one that Peter will listen to, I guess.” Mr. Stark chuckled and Connor blushed a dark blue. Mr. Stark immediately started asking Connor why his cheeks were  _ blue _ . The android started giving an in-depth response, telling him of something called ‘thirium’ and ‘blue blood’. 

It was at that moment, with his (friend? Boyfriend? Mutually-shared crush?) explaining the ins and outs of how he blushed blue, his mentor taking notes and laughing at the parts where Connor stumbled over his words, trying to think of a way to explain how and why he blushed, that Peter realized this was something he never wanted to go away.

It was peaceful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> peace doesn't last forever.


	26. news

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> connor and co watch the news during class.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey howdy hey, sorry for taking so long to write this chapter- i've just been really busy with my family, friends, and sports. but i should be getting back into the groove soon enough!
> 
> i hope that this short lil chapter will suffice for the long wait...
> 
> thanks for your patience!

Two weeks later, the news had started to pick up that the disappearances of enhanced-humans (mostly consisting of minors) were starting to happen. Everyone was on edge at school, including the four teenagers. Connor, MJ, and Ned were all nervous for Peter, him being the only enhanced-human in their group; a frankly big deal of an enhanced-human at that. The android knew that he wasn’t exactly  _ safe _ , but since no one but three people on the entire Earth knew of his android-ness, he felt mostly secured.

Connor sat next to Peter during fifth period, watching the other boy gaze sightlessly outside the window. The android was tempted to get the other teen’s attention, but decided against it; he didn’t want to bother the other teen. Letting him have some time to himself could be of benefit to him. 

The teacher, Mrs. Murray had the news on instead of actually teaching the class. Normally Connor would condemn the teacher for not, well,  _ teaching _ , but this  _ could _ save a teen in her class from being caught. Mrs. Murray was very pro-mutant, which comforted Connor (and some of the class). The android let his olfactory units come back online fully and tune into the news reporter speaking on the TV screen broadcasting in the front of the class.

“It’s looking bad right now, Julie, I’m not going to lie.” A news reporter named Markus Erwine said, looking at his co-host with a look of restrained dread in his brown eyes. Julie Perkins looked back at the man and sighed.

Her eyes looked tired from what could be assumed sleepless upon sleepless nights of reporting, her usually primly styled hair had wisps coming loose from the tight bun she wore. Markus didn’t look much better, bags drooping below his eyes, his normally youthful appearance seeming to have aged ten years in the past week. 

“I know these times seem tough,” the woman on the news murmured. “But,” Julie looked at the camera with a steady seriousness, her almost unnaturally blue eyes holding such a strong emotion it made Connor feel like he was choking on it.

“Don’t be silent on this. These are  _ people _ they’re capturing. Children.” Her steadiness faltered and she put her head into her hands. “Oh God, they’re just children…” Her shoulders thumped with barely restrained sobs. Markus looked at the camera and gave the look to cut it. Before the news station switched to a new segment, Connor saw Markus leaning over the shared couch to comfort the woman.

Connor looked to Peter who looked troubled, brown eyes filled with a deep emotion that the android couldn’t quite put a name to. The teen was clenching and unclenching his fists, bouncing his leg with nervous energy. Peter’s eyes met Connor’s and he gave a weak smile to the android. The two shared a look for a moment longer before they both turned their attention towards the front of the classroom.

The station had changed to a man who looked to be in his fifties. His name flashed in the corner: Andrew Jessman. He was sitting at a news table, papers stacked high atop it. “Reports have shown that the public is still in a fifty-fifty toss up over the Accords and if they should change. As you know, there are two distinct sides of the conflict that is taking place all over the world with the countries who signed the Sokovia Accords.” A graph appeared on the greenscreen behind him, showing the current statistics for those who were  _ for _ the accords and those who were  _ against _ the accords. They were almost neck and neck.

Connor tuned out again after the man began to cite the sources of the graph and say numbers that the android already knew. He looked at his friends, MJ looking rightly pissed off and Ned looking worriedly in his best friend’s direction. Connor just sighed silently, releasing the heat that was building up in his chest cavity. He grabbed his coin from his pocket, running the cool metal over his fingers in a quick, practiced motion

Mrs. Murray suddenly stood up and turned off the TV at the front of the room. Her soft voice filled the quiet room. 

“We’re going to be doing a unit on argumentative pieces of writing; the current events?” She waved her hand around vaguely, trying to encompass everything that was going on with a few waves of her hand. She released a breath and began to talk again.

“I want to hear your guys’ opinions on this topic. Choose a side, or don’t and tell me why you chose to be neutral. We’ll be debating on this topic on Thursday. You have the rest of today, tomorrow, and Wednesday to complete this assignment. Be prepared to argue your position.” 

She started to write something on the board and Connor quickly got out a pen and his notebook for the class and copied what Mrs. Murray was writing with his neat handwriting. It was the rubric for the assignment.

“The writing portion will be worth 55 points.” The English teacher said, and some of the class quietly groaned at the high amount of points.

Connor could hear one kid, Anthony Jefferson, complain to his girlfriend, Charlotte Tanyard, about how “this is a  _ science _ school, why the hell are we learning about English?” His girlfriend jabbed him in the ribs with two of her fingers.

“Shut it, Tony. This is important. We’re literally living through a historical event.” She scolded and Anthony sighed and put his head in his hands, mumbling out a few unintelligible words. Charlotte seemed to understand him (how she did that, Connor would never know), and she handed him the rubric for him to copy down.

Once the period ended, Peter was slow to get up, and the android saw that the teen hadn’t written the rubric down. He was just staring off into space, sitting in deep thought.

Ned eventually shook his friend and Peter snapped back into reality. He gave his friend a tentative smile, to which the Filipino boy returned with one of a similar calibre. MJ was leaning on her desk with her hip, books held tightly against her chest.

Even when Peter’s hand slipped into Connor's hand as the four teenagers walked to lunch, the android could tell Peter was doing it more out of a plea for comfort than anything else. Connor squeezed Peter’s hand tightly and let just the palms of his hand’s skin retract. 

Peter squeezed back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)))))


	27. breaking promises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> peter breaks his promise to connor and mr. stark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm so sorry for not updating in a while- i didn't feel it was in my place to post something so close to what all is going on in the world; even though i planned this far ahead of the protests going on in the united states (and around the world). this is in no way an activism piece, this is just purely for storytelling purposes.
> 
> please consider donating or signing to trustworthy causes or petitions for this topic. black lives do matter and it's time they're finally treated equally.
> 
> i am again sorry for not updating, i will try to update more regularly. please, again, consider signing petitions and donating to trustworthy causes.

Peter felt like he was on the verge of tears. Or on the verge of screaming. Either way, Peter’s mind wasn’t exactly a fun place to be currently. Every second he felt worse and worse; a weight settling heavily on his shoulders as he watched more and more news reports of people being detained for being a mutant. Kids' faces may have been blurred out due to legal reasons, but Peter could still see the visceral fear radiating off of their bodies as news stations kept broadcasting the arrests.

Mr. Stark wasn’t quite helping with the whole stress stuff, try as he might. Peter just…  _ couldn’t  _ deal with the stress wrapping around his neck like a vice. His mentor tried to keep the teenager’s mind off of the chaos going down in the world; telling him about the new nanotech he was developing, or gossip about the Avengers- anything that didn’t involve the Accords and all the stuff going down because of them. 

Peter still thought about it- how could he not? Families and friends were being torn apart from each other. It was destroying lives by the tens, the hundreds, the  _ thousands _ . The teenage vigilante felt something churn in his gut whenever he saw another news report of a kid being taken. 

He felt as if he  _ needed _ to do something. Something to stop this. 

But he couldn’t; he had  _ promised _ Mr. Stark and Connor that he wouldn’t raise a finger in this- out of his own safety. Peter hated breaking promises, especially to those who he considered some of the most important people in his life.

He was getting close to breaking that promise.

  
***

Peter broke his promise a week later.

He went out on patrol with his old homemade suit a week later, not wanting to be tracked via Mr. Stark’s tracker that was now  _ permanently _ placed into Peter’s official suit after the whole Washington D.C fiasco. 

The itch was becoming too strong, the  _ need _ to help people, to  _ save _ , was overwhelming Peter’s thoughts of each and every corner of the vigilante’s mind. Nothing was a welcome distraction in Peter’s head, everything too  _ loud _ . Peter couldn’t describe it, he just  _ felt _ .

And wasn’t that what being a hero was all about?

After stopping a few minor thefts and pickpocket attempts, Peter started to feel himself relax into the normality of his superhero duties. After being away from doing hero work for a few weeks, the grating feeling of knowing he could help people, made him restless.

It was a bit jarring, the vigilante realized, to be without Karen. To be without the AI’s directions and the comfort of knowing that someone could contact Mr. Stark if he was dying out in a ditch. It was a sobering thought, but Peter mentally waved it away, not wanting to turn around and head back now. Mr. Stark would’ve, by now, realized that Peter was gone. That meant the teenager was working on limited time before Mr. Stark sent a suit (or himself  _ in _ the suit) to go and find the vigilante. 

Peter was swinging around the familiar streets of the Queens borough, before he saw a  _ very _ familiar government-police truck that held the insignia of the Illegal Superhuman Containment Department make its way through the dark streets that were only illuminated by the faint glow of the street lamps and from the cars passing by. The vigilante sucked in a small breath as he  _ knew _ what was going to happen if he didn’t intervene. 

The teen slinked around the buildings, jumping over roofs and landing as quietly as possible while trying to keep pace with the car speeding through the streets. He tucked and rolled over one last roof before he saw the truck stop suddenly.

Peter perched himself delicately over the edge of the building, squinting his eyes as he saw the police officers getting out of the truck. There were four of them, and they were handling guns, of what type Peter was uncertain (he didn’t know much about guns). The, who Peter presumed was the lead officer, made a couple of hand signals and the other three officers nodded their heads. They started to move, boots crunching against the old alleyway’s ground.

The vigilante moved to follow them when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Peter jumped backwards, away from the presumed attacker, falling into a defensive fighting stance. He opened his mouth to make a quip, trying to gather his wits. His breath caught when he saw who  _ exactly _ was the “attacker”.

It was Connor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the short chapter, ha. i promise the next chapter will be up tomorrow or the day after that.
> 
> again, this story is in no way an activism piece, just a piece of fanfiction that i had an idea for before the shit hit the fan. if people have trouble with what i'm posting during these times, i will completely understand and comply to not updating for another while.
> 
> please sign trustworthy petitions and donate to trustworthy causes.
> 
> till next time.

**Author's Note:**

> come scream with me about d:bh and marvel on @charlotte-soup on tumblr!!
> 
> you can also find me on twitter! @charlotte_pines !


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